Wicked Game
by Shawna
Summary: Vegeta is a young prince on a corrupt planet. Katsu is a young woman with amnesia enslaved there. Their hate-at-first-sight clash evolves into something more complicated and far more dangerous, as something more sinister than even the Saiyans awaits...
1. Ch 1

Wicked Game Ch. 1 

By Shawna

A/N: Whoohoo I am so high on Skittles. Yeah, so I'm a relatively new DBZ fan, so if anything I say in this fic contradicts anything that has been said in the actual series, please do point it out to me. Thanks. Reviews make me happy, BTW. ^_^

It was the little red light on the console that woke her up, or at least, that was her first thought. That didn't make any sense, though; small lights that were not even blinking did not just wake a person up. Something had roused her, though, and she was definitely fully awake now. 

Space. That was her second thought. When she finally tore her eyes from the red light she looked out a large window, seeing, beyond the reflection of her big green eyes and long strawberry blonde hair, blackness and stars. She was in an escape pod, and she was drifting in space. How had she gotten here? She sorted through her brain but found she could remember nothing about what might have driven her to escape her planet like this. Her planet. What planet was that? She had no recollection of its name, though she could remember that it had been covered in forests of evergreen trees and crisscrossed with pure blue rivers. She slapped her fist into her palm and concentrated on its name, trying to ignore the dull throb at the base of her skull, telltale sign of a head injury, perhaps a concussion. 

Nothing came. It was several minutes before she was suddenly panic-stricken, wondering if she could remember her own name. Katsu. That was her name, wasn't it? Yes, yes it was. Katsu. Katsu what? From where? These things she could not remember, and she wondered how long she had been drifting out here. She checked the console, but there seemed to be nothing that would control the little vessel. How ridiculous. What was the point of escaping in this pod if you could not control where you ended up? She slapped her hand on the console in frustration and for the first time noted the singe marks on the cloth covering her outstretched arm. She stared at it for a moment before rushing to check all of her clothing, finding there to be several burn marks and rips in the cloth. Evidently there had been some kind of disaster on her planet, something horrible, and she had either gotten herself into this pod and then sustained her head injury or someone had put her in this pod afterwards. In either case, why was she alone? Shouldn't there be someone with her? Anyone at all? There should have been, but there was not. She was definitely alone and she was at the mercy of space.

Her head throbbed with more pain than it had before and she clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut. The pain made her feel drowsy, despite the fact that she had just woken up from what had most likely been a very long nap. Her eyes did not seem to want to open again, and so she let them stay closed, and it wasn't long before she felt sleep claiming her again. _I hope I don't crash into a star or something,_ she thought as she drifted off. _Maybe I'll hit a planet..._

* * *

She was roused again some time later, but it was definitely not by that little red light on the console this time. The pod jerked hard to one side and she smacked her head on the inner wall with a yelp. The turbulence had awoken her and a quick glance out the window revealed that she was entering a planet's atmosphere. She, of course, could not tell what planet and fear stabbed into her at thought of what might be waiting in store for her here. She could only hope that this planet would be civilized and friendly, and that she could get her memories back and radio her planet for help.

On the ground, several beings looked up as Katsu's escape pod streaked across the sky. Their eyes gleamed and there was an immediate bustle of activity among them.

Katsu braced herself for the impact as she saw the ground rushing rapidly up to meet her. The pod smashed into the ground with a jarring force, tossing Katsu about inside and sending up a huge plume of dust and dirt. Katsu lay where she had been thrown, staring at the dirt falling around outside the pod, thinking that it would be best to wait until the thick dust had settled before opening the hatch. 

The dust had barely begun to drift back to the ground when a figure suddenly loomed outside the pod, and before Katsu could react, tore the door open and grabbed her. She screamed and fought as she was easily lifted out of the pod by her arm. She was met by a pair of dark eyes that belonged to a massive man with long black hair that fell in spiky waves down his back. She screamed again, seeing the bulging muscles in his arms and legs, and tried to strike him with her fists. She landed one or two of what she thought were fairly good punches for her current position. The man began to laugh as she beat her fist against his chest.

"This one's feisty!" He said with a grin. "Maybe we should just destroy her now. She won't be much use in the castle."

Several other large men emerged from the dust, grinning and laughing themselves. 

"She's just scared," one said. "She might calm down if things are explained to her."

Katsu stared in horror. She could certainly scratch the idea that this planet might be friendly. But who were these men? What did they want with her? And what castle?

The man holding her spoke. "You chose a good time to crash here, girl," he said bruskly. "One of the servants in the castle just died, and if you agree to behave we'll spare your life and put you to work. If you'd rather not cooperate, you can try to fight us." Here all the men laughed loudly and Katsu grimaced. It went through her mind that she did know how to fight, she had learned, but there was no way she could beat even just one of these enormous men, let alone several of them. 

"I-I'll behave," she said falteringly, cursing herself for giving up but seeing it as her only option at the time. She could always take her time to come up with a plan and perhaps escape later. She would definitely try. She didn't know what kind of planet this was, that enslaved newcomers, but she could learn more about it in safety if she was cooperative.

"Of course you will," the man holding her said as he pulled a pair of wristcuffs from his belt and cuffed her hands together in front of her. 

"What are you putting these on for?" She asked, testing the bonds and chafing her wrists.

The man punched her in the face, and it was enough to send her reeling even though he had not drawn back his fist at all and had used only a very small amount of his full strength. 

"First lesson," he said harshly. "Don't speak unless you're asked a question."

She stared at him and nodded silently, feeling her nose beginning to throb and bleed where he had struck her. He grunted and grinned before picking her up easily and tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She went stiff at first, opened her mouth to protest, and then shut it resolutely and relaxed her body, resigning herself to her fate. She relaxed, allowing her head to go down, and then her eyes widened as she spotted the thin brown tail that the man carrying her possessed. They all had tails! What sort of race could they be? Katsu was at a loss; they certainly looked like normal men, but they were at least a hundred times as strong, and they all had those simian tails.

The man threw her in the back of some sort of transport and then got into the driver's seat and took off. It was a short trip back to civilization. She had crashed not far outside of what must have been their capital city, because resting on a hill above it was a castle - a castle of exquisite size and beauty, that put Katsu in awe despite her current predicament. They approached it rapidly, arriving at the gates just as Katsu's back was beginning to ache from her awkward position. 

"We've found the king a new servant!" The man called up to the guard at the gate. The guard was a woman, but her eyes were dark and hard just like the men who had captured Katsu and, of course, she had a tail. She grinned down at them and went inside the small tower and a second later the gate slid open. 

They entered the castle courtyard. The front entrance was large and grand, but Katsu was picked up out of the back of the transport and carried around to the side of the castle, to a small dingy-looking door that creaked as the man carrying her threw it open. Several beings of various different species looked up as the door opened, and then quickly looked down again as they saw who it was. Some of them cast pitying looks at Katsu as the man carried her across the room and tossed her down onto a hard cot.

"This is where you sleep," he said gruffly. "The other servants will tell you your duties and the rules. I suggest you pay careful attention and don't make any mistakes. The king is not a patient man." He turned and walked away from where he had dropped Katsu, and the other servants worked feverishly at whatever task they were performing.

"Shiro," the man said as he reached the door, "Show the new girl about and tell her her duties. The rest of you... get back to work!" He shouted this last part, despite the fact that no one had ceased to work, and then slammed the door behind him. The servants breathed an audible sigh of relief and slowed their working pace. Several of them were at a sink washing dishes, while two others were polishing armour. A few were fixing some type of small machine, while in the room just off of this one, there were the noises of people bustling about what sounded to be a kitchen. 

Katsu gingerly touched her nose and groaned. It was a bit swollen now, and still oozing a steady trickle of blood. 

"We'd better do something about that," came a soft, even voice from above Katsu. She looked up to see a young man gazing down at her. His eyes were intent upon her face, and were a deep and pure violet in color. His hair was silvery blue and tied back in a low, loose ponytail, but she could see that it went down to his waist. His features were sharp and clear, and he would have been very handsome but for two very strange attributes to his person: a pair of large, triangular ears that burst from his hair on top of his head, and a long, thick, bushy tale falling behind him.

Katsu stared in surprise; she'd never seen a person like this before. The young man smiled softly.

"I'm Shiro," he said, in that same gentle, even tone. "I'm supposed to help you get adjusted and to work, but first..." He offered Katsu his hand, and pulled her into a sitting position when she took it. "We need to do something about that nose. Tilt your head back and I'll get you a rag and some ice."

He moved off and Katsu tilted her head back as she had been told to do. Her head throbbed with pain as she did so and she gritted her teeth. Shiro returned with a piece of somewhat clean cloth and some ice wrapped in a rag. She took these gratefully, dabbing away the blood and pressing the ice tenderly against her swollen and painful nose.

"Thanks," she said simply, and Shiro merely smiled before leaving her alone. 

He came back less than an hour later to take back the cloth and the rag, which was now wet from the melted ice. Katsu gave these up hesitantly, still being in pain, and Shiro took them to a large bin on the other side of the room that was full of, she presumed, dirty clothes and linens and things.

"Ready to work?" Shiro asked cheerfully upon his return, helping Katsu to her feet. 

"Work?" She said miserably, feeling her nose throb again. 

Shiro looked at her with sympathy. "Yes, I'm afraid we don't get any breaks around here, not even for injuries, especially ones caused by the Saiyans."

"Saiyans?" Katsu asked, having never heard the name before.

Shiro sat her back down on her cot and took a seat next to her. "I guess I have enough time to tell you a little about whats happening here before we need to get back to work," he said. Katsu looked at him expectantly. "This is the planet Vegeta, and its run by these... beasts called Saiyans. They're the ones with the tails. They're a violent, hateful race, and they make their living by wiping out all the lifeforms on a planet and then selling it in the Planet Trade. They love to fight and eat and thats pretty much it. They have the technology to build androids to serve them, but they delight in taking those who try to surrender and enslaving them." He stopped here, passing a hand over his face.

"You surrendered?" Katsu asked softly.

"No," he said firmly. "My mother did. I don't blame her. I was just a child, she was trying to protect my life. Well, they killed her anyway, but took me here and I've been their slave ever since. What about you? Did you surrender?"

Katsu shook her head. "I woke up in an escape pod with no memory of how I got there," she said. "Then I crash landed here. I was captured..."

"And then you surrendered." Shiro said softly. Katsu looked away in shame. He placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Hey! Break it up! There's no time for tender moments!" A woman at the door to the kitchen was shrieking at Katsu and Shiro. "Get that girl properly dressed, and hurry! You've got to take out the dinner in five minutes! The prince arrived home tonight and they're having a feast. The king will have us all whipped if everything isn't perfect." WIth this she scurried away, looking harried and stressed.

Shiro stood up and pointed to a large, undecorated chest in the corner. "Find a dress in there that fits, and hurry. Be in the kitchen in three minutes." He left, heading for the kitchen himself.

Katsu felt harried herself now. She rushed over to the chest and threw it open, finding it full of plain black dresses that laced up the front, as well as the black tunic shirts and pants that must be for the men, as that was what Shiro had been wearing. The first two dresses she tried were too big, but the third fit comfortably enough and she finished lacing it on her way to the kitchen.

Shiro was standing in the middle, balancing four platters on his arms. When he saw Katsu, he immediately passed two of them to her. She promptly lost the balance and one of the platters of food went crashing to the ground. For a few seconds, all action in the kitched ceased as everyone stared at her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I-"

"No time for apologies," a woman said, cutting Katsu off briskly. "Just take that food that you didn't drop out into the dining hall before its late and you cause even more trouble."

Katsu felt herself beginning to blush furiously, but Shiro nudged her and motioned for her to follow him and so she hurriedly did. 

"Thats not going to make you very popular with the kitchen maids," Shiro said as they climbed a flight of stairs. "But don't worry about it. You're a house servant. You'll only have to see them at mealtimes and at night, when everyone is too busy sleeping to give anyone a hard time. Besides, it was really my fault. I guess I forgot that you're new. What's your number?"

"Number?" Katsu asked, confused.

"At the top of your left arm," Shiro said.

Katsu looked at the sleeve of her black dress and saw a number 88 stitched in white on the black cloth. "Eighty-eight."

Shiro nodded. "Double numbers are lucky," he said jokingly, as if anything could possibly be lucky about being a slave.

Shiro pushed open a door at the top of the stairs and held it open for Katsu with his foot. Passing through this door was like passing through a dimension warp. The servant's quarters and the kitchen were bare, dingy, dank, cold, and poorly lit. On the other side of that door, there was splendor. Katsu gasped audibly on beholding the lavish corridor, lit by exquisite chandeliers and furnished in deep, rich colors and textures.

"Yes, its impressive," Shiro said dryly. "Slaves built this place for the Saiyans. Now come on, this way. Once we get inside the dining hall, don't say a word. Keep your eyes downcast and your face neutral. There will be four cleared areas. Place your platter in one of those."

"Won't there be one missing?" Katsu asked.

Shiro shot her a worried glance, but then they entered the dining hall and he immediately assumed the expression he had told her to take, and she followed his lead. He walked quickly and quietly to the long table, around which sat nearly fifty of these Saiyans, all of them huge and muscle-bound, with their tails hanging over the sides of their chairs. Katsu silently placed her platter at an empty spot and then turned to go, Shiro not far behind her.

"Stop!" 

Katsu frove, as did Shiro. One of the Saiyans had risen out of his seat, and the cleared space before him was still just that: clear. He looked more than a little upset about this fact.

"Where's the platter that goes here?" He demanded of the two servants.

Shiro's gaze remained on the floor, but his tail was stiff and bristled behind him. His voice was soft and submissive when he spoke. "Another platter will be up in a few short moments."

"Why isn't it here now?" The Saiyan demanded.

Shiro's tail twitched. "Well, there was-"

Katsu cut him off. "It was my fault," she said, keeping her eyes down but her chin up. "I dropped the platter, but I'm sure another one is ready to be brought up by now."

Shiro's eyes were no longer on the floor. They were on her, and they were wide and fearful.

The Saiyan growled, and seemed ready to approach her when another voice was raised, this one being lower, rougher, and far more regal. Katsu's eyes went to the head of the table, where the voice had come from. The Saiyan that had spoken was standing, and his place was on the right hand side of the king. He was young, younger than most of the assembled Saiyans, and shorter as well. His black hair nearly compensated for his lack of height by being tall and spiky, drawing back a bit on his forehead, forming a shallow widow's peak that would certainly get deeper as he got older. His eyes were dark, and at the moment, they were flashing with anger.

"I'll handle this," he said, addressing the other standing Saiyan, who slowly took his seat. "Woman!" The still standing Saiyan called to Katsu. "Come here!"

She walked swiftly down the length of the table, stopping about five feet from the Saiyan.

"Closer," he commanded her, and she took another step. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the chin, bringing her face up until her eyes met his. "I haven't seen you before," he said, turning to face those at the table. "Where did this woman come from?"

The Saiyan who had first carried Katsu out of her escape pod stood. "She crash landed on the planet just this afternoon, your Highness."

Your Highness! As Katsu had been thinking, this must be the prince that the woman in the kitchen had spoken of. His dark eyes came back to hers and he scowled. Katsu unconsciously braced herself, expecting him to strike her like the Saiyan earlier today, but he did not. His grip abruptly tightened, though, and with a single swift motion of his arm, he threw her to the ground. A small squeak escaped her lips, and this seemed to anger him, and he gave her a kick in the shin. 

"I'm going to spare you a punishment," he said sternly. "But don't screw up again, or you will be whipped. Now get out of here, and don't return this meal."

He returned to his seat, and the Saiyans went back to their talking. Katsu scurried to her feet, and fled the room quickly. Shiro was waiting for her outside the door.

"Why did you do that?" He asked angrily as they walked back down the corridor. "Do you know what could have happened to you? When I saw Prince Vegeta get up, I thought they might even put you to death, or at least whip you! Prince Vegeta orders servants whipped if they so much as look at him in a way he doesn't like! You got really lucky!"

Katsu was deeply shaken, but her voice was remarkably calm for how unnerved she felt inside. "You would have gotten whipped for sure, then," she said. "I spared you punishment."

"And you almost got it yourself!" He fumed.

"This planet is called Vegeta, and so is the prince?" Katsu asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yes," Shiro brushed her question aside. "Look, Katsu, of course I'm glad I didn't get punished, and I do have you to thank for that, but how do you think I would feel if they whipped you? It would have been my fault."

"I dropped the platter," she said. "Any punishment I might have received would have been my own fault."

Shiro was still fussing about what she had done when they went back into the kitchen, and all the kitchen maids looked up, seeming surprised to see Katsu still intact.

"Katsu's been ordered not to return to the dining hall tonight," Shiro told them. "She's going to go to bed now."

Katsu sent Shiro a look, but he glared sternly and she went quickly back into the sleeping quarters. 

There were only thin blankets that were full of holes to cover up with. Katsu changed back into the clothes she had arrived in, these being more worn and comfortable than the stiff black dress she wore now. She slipped under the inadequate blanket and curled up, trying to get warm.

It took her some time, but she had fallen into a deep sleep by the time the other servants began coming into the quarters and going to sleep themselves. Shiro was the last to come in, and he passed by Katsu's cot on his way to his own. He stopped, looked down at her and saw that she was shivering in her sleep. His face softened, and he went to his own cot and came back with his blanket and threw it over her. She stirred a bit and he stood over her until her shivering stopped. He leaned down and whispered, "Thank you," in her ear, because he had not said it before, and then went to his own cot, fluffing up his tail and covering as much of himself as he could with it before falling asleep, shivering.

To Be Continued...

(A/N:) I know the focus was a lot more on the original characters in this chapter, but Vegeta will be in the story more from now on! ^_^ 


	2. Ch 2

"Wicked Game" Ch. 2 

By Shawna

"How ironic," Shiro said the next morning, looking at a list posted on the door to the servant's quarters. 

"What?" Katsu asked as she came up behind him, rubbing sleep from her eyes. It was just after dawn, and Katsu was stiff with cold and aching with tiredness. 

Shiro pointed to a number 88 on the list. "You've been assigned to the prince with me."

Katsu stared at the list. "So what exactly does that mean?"

"Well," Shiro said, "When we're not serving meals, our duties are isolated to the prince. See that silver button on your cuff?"

Katsu found it, but had not noticed just how thick it was before.

"When that thing starts beeping, you jump to and get yourself to wherever the prince is to see what he wants. When he's not specifically calling on us, we take care of the third floor, where his room is, and his room when he's not in it. In the morning, we dust and open the windows in the hallways. We usually take his breakfast to his room, because he never comes downstairs for it. In the afternoons while he's out, we change the linens and make the bed and in the evenings we'll be serving dinner. At any time in between he might ring one of us wanting some random thing. You just stay neutral, eyes down, and its not so bad. We have it better than the basement servants."

"Basement servants?"

"The ones who have to stay down here," Shiro said, lowering his voice and stepping closer to Katsu. "They have to wash linens and dishes, repair broken machinery and transports, cook the food, and polish armor. Most of them will never get to see the sky again."

"Really?" Katsu was horrified at the thought. "Well, how do they choose who's what?"

"By who's better looking," Shiro said quietly.

Katsu eyed him incredulously and he shrugged. "I'm serious," he said. "Those that are considered easier on the eyes are the ones that get to move about the house, the ones that are seen. The ones they think are ugly get locked away down here."

Katsu was silent, but her gaze dropped to the floor. 

"Look on the bright side, Katsu," Shiro said with his usual good humour, despite how bad their situation was. "You're beautiful and its actually doing you a favor." He smiled warmly at her, but she couldn't get herself to return it, so he just put his arm around her shoulder and led her up the stairs out of the basement.

They climbed a back staircase to the third floor, not as splendid as the grand stairway, but much nicer than the steps that took one out of the basement where the servants lived. The third floor was, as Katsu had expected, the most lavish of any of the floors. There were floor to ceiling windows, covered with thick draperies, and golden sconces on the walls. Shiro motioned her to be quiet as he approached one of the windows and pulled a gold rope on the drapes, throwing them open wide, letting in the light of the rising sun. Shiro handed her one of the two cloths he had brought from the basement.

"Open that window down there and polish the sconces by it with this," he whispered almost inaudibly. She nodded and hurried off to do as he'd said. 

She was just finishing polishing her second sconce when the silver button on her cuff began to beep gently. Shiro looked up and motioned her to come to him. She did so, covering the button with her hand to muffle the quiet but insistent beeping. 

"That's the prince wanting his breakfast," Shiro whispered. "Go back down to the kitchen and tell them you're taking Prince Vegeta's breakfast, and hurry up!"

She nodded and ran as quietly as she could back to the stairs, taking them two at a time on her way down. She burst into the kitchen a bit out of breath and several of the cooks looked at her in surprise.

"I need Prince Vegeta's breakfast," she panted. 

A few of them eyed her strangely, and one of the cooks wordlessly handed her a tray of food. A few of the people snickered and Katsu was confused, wondering why. She had no time to ask though, remembering how urgently Shiro had told her to hurry, and so she took off, taking the steps back up as fast as she could without spilling anything on the tray.

She burst back into the third floor hallway and breezed past Shiro without a word. She stopped in front of the door to the prince's room and took a moment to compose herself before knocking softly, as Shiro had motioned for her to do from across the hall. There was only silence.

"That means it's okay to go in," Shiro whispered. "If it wasn't, he would have yelled at you to go away already."

Katsu took a deep breath and opened the door. It was still dark inside, and she froze, waiting for her eyes to adjust, glad for the light that spilled into the room from the hallway.

"Shut the door," came a voice; that rough, low voice that she already knew from her ill-fated run at last night's dinner. She quickly obeyed, shutting it and sealing out the light. She could see nothing so she stayed still, hearing nothing but her own breath. After a few seconds her eyes adjusted, allowing her to see, though not very well. She could make out the prince's outline; he was sitting in a chair by the window, which was draped in thick curtains. 

"On the table here," he said, gesturing to a small table next to his seat. She hurried over and placed the tray carefully on the table, and then turned to go.

"Hold on," he said, sounding a bit angry. "I haven't dismissed you yet."

She turned around. "Did you need something else?"

He growled. "I didn't give you permission to speak, either." He stared down at the tray for a moment and Katsu heard him hiss. "And just what is this? This isn't _mine._ This filth probably goes to some low level guard. How dare you bring me this!" He rose from his chair in one fluid movement and approached her. Katsu kept her eyes down but began to tremble when he stood over her. She now understood why the cooks had snickered when they'd handed her this tray. They had gotten her into trouble on purpose.

"This is the second time you've made a mistake," he said in a voice that was low and dangerous. "Isn't it?"

"Yes," she said in a whisper.

He backhanded her across the face, just hard enough to leave a bruise. "Yes what?" He said with increasing anger.

"Yes, y-your Highness," she said resentfully, feeling the hot sting rising in her cheek.

He shook his head and returned to his seat. "Get it together or I'll have you put to death due to your uselessness. Now leave."

She scurried out of the room, shutting the door gently behind her and running to the other end of the hall. There she crumbled against the wall, tears coursing down her cheeks, and began to weep bitterly. It was not until Shiro placed a hand on her back that she realized he was even there. She looked up at him and he saw the purple bruise blossoming on her right cheek and knew what had happened. The button on his cuff began beeping.

"The kitchen maids gave me the wrong tray, on purpose," Katsu whispered. "I'm sure the prince is calling you to take it away and bring him what should have been his."

Shiro's eyes narrowed in anger, but he said nothing as he rose and went to the prince's room, emerging a moment later with the tray and disappearing down the stairs with it. Katsu stayed against the wall, sobbing quietly until Shiro came back with another tray and went into the prince's room. When he came out, he was wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve.

"I think he's in a good mood today," Shiro said with a grin as he came back to Katsu. "Come on then, get up. We can't stay here in the hallway." He helped Katsu to her feet and they took off down the stairs, back to the basement.

Katsu helped Shiro clean up his nose and the buttons on their cuffs were silent for the rest of the morning. Several of the kitchen maids snickered at seeing Katsu's bruised face and Shiro's bloodied nose. Shiro shot them angry looks and tripped one of them on her way back to the kitchen. 

That afternoon, Katsu and Shiro retrieved some clean bed sheets from the laundry servants and returned to the third floor to make the prince's bed. The bed was a disaster: the sheets were rumpled and damp, and the blankets twisted and halfway on the floor.

"Looks like the prince had a rough night," Katsu commented dryly. 

Shiro shrugged. "The bed looks like this everyday." Katsu made a face and Shiro laughed. "You think he's got a woman in here everynight," he said. "He actually doesn't. I just figure Saiyans must be as violent in their sleep as they are while they're awake. Believe me, when there's been a woman in here, you'll know."

"Charming," Katsu said sarcastically. "Like I want to know when that disgusting creature has been sleeping with someone."

Shiro laughed again. "I didn't say you _wanted_ to know, I was just saying that you _will_ know."

Katsu shook her head and stripped the bed quickly. The two remade it with the clean sheets, making sure it looked perfect before they left the room, returning again to the basement.

Later that afternoon, Katsu sat down on her cot, sighing with boredom. "Do you guys do anything for fun when you're not working?"

Shiro sat beside her. "Not really. We're working most of the time. Besides, the Saiyans look in from time to time and if we got caught doing anything that even slightly resembled fun, I'm sure we would be punished."

Katsu heaved another sigh, putting her head in her hands. "So we get to do nothing? Nothing at all?"

Shiro snickered. "There is one thing," he said evasively. "A lot of the servants take time to indulge their, um, personal needs at night."

Katsu looked sickened. "In here?" She said. "Surrounded by everyone else? They sleep together?"

Shiro nodded. "Hey, people have needs. Sometimes they go in the kitchen, but there's usually more than one couple in there. The Saiyans know that the servants do it, because every now and then a baby is born."

"What happens to the baby?" Katsu asked softly, a little nervous at what the response might be.

"They'll let the mother keep it if it doesn't get in the way of her duties. When the child is four or five, they put it to work. That's why they don't bother to separate the servants by sex. They know that the servant population will sustain itself if they're all left together."

"That's sick," Katsu said firmly.

Shiro shrugged. "Any race that keeps slaves does it the same way."

Katsu shook her head and put it back in her hands and stayed that way for a long time. Night came and the kitchen maids prepared dinner. Katsu took two platters, carefully this time, to take to the dining room, delivering them without incident.

"The prince wasn't in the dining hall tonight," Katsu said to Shiro on her way back to the basement. 

"I noticed," Shiro said. "That means one of our cuffs should be beeping soon."

Sure enough, Katsu's button sounded a minute later and she got a tray from the kitchen maids, who Shiro kept an eye on to make sure that they gave her the right one.

The bruise on Katsu's face tingled as she made her way up the stairs. _I hope he's not going to hit me again,_ she thought apprehensively. With her bruised face and still sore nose, she was getting quite beat up for being here only two days. She knocked softly upon reaching the prince's door and, receiving no reply, entered slowly.

The curtains were open, and the light of this planet's waxing moon spilled in, sending a path of silver across the floor. The prince was standing before the window with his arms folded over his bare chest, wearing nothing but a pair of pants, looking out over the castle grounds. For a moment Katsu stared, appreciating the view of the perfectly chiseled muscles of his chest and stomach. Her breath stuck in her throat when she realized what she was thinking, and she cast her eyes down hurriedly.

"On the table," he said, his voice low, but the tone still hard. She obeyed quickly and then returned to the center of the room, standing with her hands clasped and her head down. For a moment he said nothing, still staring out the window, and then he went to the table and appraised the tray she had brought before turning to face her.

"You didn't screw anything up this time," he said. "And here I was hoping to have a reason for an execution."

She swallowed hard, anger rising in her stomach.

He laughed scornfully. "I'm making you mad." It was not a question, but he followed it wtih, "Aren't I?"

"Yes, your Highness," she said, realizing even as the words left her mouth that he would probably strike her now, but not regretting saying them to him.

"Look at me and tell me that," he said, anger coursing through his words.

She looked up, right into his eyes. "You're making me angry, your Highness."

For a moment his face didn't change and she felt sure he would beat her now. But abruptly he laughed, a loud, scornful sound. He put his hands on his hips, looking cocky and very much like a prince, before speaking. "I'd forgotten that you were one who crashed here, and not one who surrendered. You're more feisty than the other weaklings who simply couldn't die with dignity. They drop to their knees at the slightest hint of command from me."

She said nothing, thinking of Shiro.

"Get out," he said, turning away with a lopsided grin. "I won't punish you for your lip because it gave me a brief moment of amusement."

She hurried out of the room, her anger still rising. She shut the door hard behind her, resisting the urge to slam it with all her might. She hated him. It hit her in that moment that she had begun to hate the prince with a passion she couldn't remember having for any other emotion. At the same time she had a picture in her head of the way the moonlight had played across his perfect body. She gritted her teeth, banishing the image from her mind as she descended the stairs. When it refused to go away, she only became more angry, bashing her fist into the wall. It figured that someone she hated so much had to go and look so good.

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Ch 3

"Wicked Game" Ch. 3

By Shawna

"Is Vegeta calling you to take his dinner to his room _again?_" Shiro said in an exasperated tone as Katsu's cuff began beeping softly. It was the sixth night in a row that Vegeta had been staying in his room for dinner, and the sixth night in a row his calls had interrupted Shiro and Katsu in the middle of conversation.

"I don't like it any more than you," Katsu said, rising off of Shiro's cot and heading towards the kitchen. "I'll hurry back," she said over her shoulder with a grin as she entered the kitchen and scooped the waiting tray into her arms. She scaled the steps out of the basement and to the third floor quickly, faster now than she could when she first arrived. She reached Vegeta's door and knocked softly as always, entering upon hearing the usual silence. There was a single light on in the room, unusual for the prince, and Katsu stopped short upon seeing that Vegeta was sitting in his bed, shirtless, the sheets pulled up around his waist. His arms, perfectly muscled like the rest of him, were folded over his chest as usual, and Katsu briefly admired the view.

"Drop the tray on the table," he said. "And then come here."

Nervousness curdled in her stomach and sent a chill up her spine. What could he possibly want? A thought ran through her mind and the hairs on her arms stood on end. Certainly not. He always seemed disgusted by her. Certainly he didn't want what she was thinking. She placed the tray lightly on the table and approached the bed, hesitantly, stopping quite a way back from where the prince sat. He gestured for her to come closer. She took a single step. He gestured again, and she took another step. He growled impatiently.

"Right here," he said, indicating the ground right beside the bed, and Katsu hastened to the spot. She clasped her hands in front of her and kept her head down. Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Then Vegeta reached out and grasped her chin firmly and pulled her face close to his. She bit her lip and made no sound as his eyes searched hers.

"Are you good with your mouth?" He asked, a grin toying with the corners of his lips. "Because I want you to use it."

He threw her down onto the bed and she landed heavily atop his legs. She raised herself up on her arms and shook her head quickly to recover. She looked up at Vegeta to see him leaning back with his arms at his sides, watching her expectantly. She gaped. 

"You want me to do what?" She whispered fiercely.

He grinned. "You know what I meant."

She stared at him, wide-eyed and for a moment she didn't know what to do. She knew that she should do as he asked, because he would beat her or have her put to death if she disobeyed him, but at the same time a wave of revulsion came over her and she knew she wouldn't be able to do it no matter how hard she tried to force herself.

"Are you going to do it or not?" He asked impatiently.

She pulled herself up to a crouched position, moving off his legs. "I-I,..." she stuttered, slowly drawing one leg off the bed. Her conviction struck her at once. "No," she said firmly and now his eyes widened.

She bolted, throwing herself off the bed and making it to the middle of the room before she stopped moving. She was all ready to run out of the room and get as far as she could when the sound of Vegeta laughing loudly stopped her. She turned around slowly. There was another person in the room, emerging from the shadows behind the curtains and shaking his head. When he moved into the light she saw that it was a very large and very bald Saiyan, and he looked a bit upset. She stared in surprise when he walked up to Vegeta and what must have been money changed hands between the two.

"What did I tell you, Nappa," Vegeta said with conviction, throwing back the covers and rising out of bed, clad in his pants. "I said she wouldn't do it and I was right." He cast a look at Katsu. "Oh, don't look so horrified," he said to her. "I was never going to let you put your filthy mouth on me."

Katsu gaped as Vegeta laughed. "Wh-what exactly just happened here?" She asked, feeling anger rising in her stomach.

Vegeta and Nappa turned to face her. "Hey, we didn't tell you you could speak," Nappa said.

"No, we didn't," Vegeta agreed. "But I'll tell you what's happening anyway. Nappa and I just had a little bet going on. He's seen you around and knows that you're my servant, so he asked if you put out. I said no, so we bet on it. Nappa was so sure that you would drop to your knees and suck me off gladly, but I knew you better." Vegeta laughed again and even Nappa, who had lost this bet, joined in. Katsu fumed.

"It's not funny!" She yelled. "I'm a servant, not a toy! You can't just make sport of me like that!"

Vegeta stopped laughing instantly and the anger in his eyes when he looked at her was enough to make her regret her outburst and become afraid.

"Of course we can make sport of you," Nappa said. "You're a slave. It's the same as being a toy. In fact, I think I can make a bit more sport of you..." He approached her rapidly, grabbing hold of her upper arm before she could move away. She gasped and tried to pull away, causing him to wrench her arm painfully.

"Nappa." Vegeta appeared beside him and rested a restraining hand on Nappa's arm, his voice full of reproof. "You don't really want to foul yourself up with _that_," his eyes flicked to Katsu and then back to Nappa. "Do you?"

Nappa looked at Vegeta for a few seconds, and then his grip loosened. Katsu jerked her arm back angrily and glared at Nappa, setting her jaw defiantly. Vegeta looked at her curiously, seeing the way she widened her stance, turned a bit sideways, bent her elbows slightly, and clenched her fists.

"Drop that fighting stance," he said abruptly, with a derisive snort. "And get out of my room."

Katsu relaxed her body, suddenly realizing the position she had assumed. She turned and left the room hurriedly, feeling her cheeks begin to flush with embarrassment at the thought of what she had just done: challenging the two massive Saiyans. _Where did that come from?_ she thought, not remembering anything about fighting, other than that she had once been able to do it. She had taken up a fighting position in that room without even realizing it, having done it because she was angry and felt threatened with the two Saiyans standing in such close proximity to her. It had been a foolish action, but she wondered why it had come so naturally to her.

"He asked you to do _what?_" This was the first of Shiro's reactions as Katsu was recounting the story to him when she had gotten back to the basement. "Nappa grabbed you and said _what_?" This came second. "And then you did _that?_" By far this was the most vehement of Shiro's reactions, when he heard that Katsu had gone into a fighting stance right there before the two Saiyans, either one of which could have easily snapped her neck with only two of their fingers around it. 

"I didn't think about it," Katsu said. "I just did it."

Shiro shook his head. "Well, conscious decision or not, it was stupid. I'm just glad that you're okay, because challenging them like that... I've seen the Saiyans kill over less."

Katsu folded her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "It was scary," she said. "I was just scared, so I did what came naturally, and that was to fight. When Nappa grabbed me like that..."

Shiro abruptly put his arms around her and held her close. Her eyes widened but she let him hold her, because it was comforting to have the gentle contact that his arms afforded. She sighed heavily and put her arms around him, lowering her knees to draw him closer to her. Shiro drew back a bit, placing a hand on either side of her face. His breath was warm and close on her face and his lips were slackly open. His violet eyes searched her green ones, looking for any objection in them. He found none and so moved forward, pressing his lips lightly onto hers. 

Katsu melted into the kiss. Her hands came up, burying themselves in his thick, soft hair. The kiss intensified and one of Katsu's hands moved higher on Shiro's head, until her fingers came into contact with the silky fur covering one of his large triangular ears.

She pulled back, breaking the contact between the two of them. Shiro stared at her in confusion.

"What's wrong, Katsu?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just not into this right now," she said softly, aware of the fact that this was not the full truth. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she had suddenly lost desire to be with him, and this was not entirely because of how she had suddenly touched one of those strange ears and remembered that he was not the same species as she was.

He looked concerned, but did not move closer to her again. He seemed to sense her discomfiture, having a lot more to do than just not being into it, and he rose, patting her shoulder awkwardly, and moved off to his own cot. Katsu sighed and placed her head in her hands. What had caused her to suddenly lose interest? She didn't know, but the mere fact that it had happened unnerved her. It was not that she was not attracted to Shiro, because she most certainly was; he was very handsome in the face and had a thin, lithe, but still toned body. She lay down heavily on her cot, unhappy with herself and having a sudden desperate need to be back home. Home. She had just gotten a memory back; a memory of the small but comfortable home she had shared with her family. She could see their smiling faces, all of them seated on the ground around the table, set with food. Everyone seemed happy and she remembered feeling so. The memory was sharp and clear, but it seemed like it had all happened a very long time ago.

A tear seeped slowly out of her eye. She wanted to be home, and she wanted to remember the names of her parents, her siblings, her hometown, her planet. None of it was there, only the memory of her house. She clung desperately to the memory, envisioning the house over and over again until she had fallen asleep.

She woke up the next morning feeling as though she had not slept at all. Her sleep had been light and fitful, and had certainly not given her the rest she needed. She groaned, not wanting to get off of her cot, rough and uncomfortable though it may be. Her eyes were barely open, but she could see that most everyone else was already up and about.

"Time to get up."

Katsu started, her eyes flying open. Shiro had come up on the other side of her bed without a sound and spoken.

"Yeah," she said, relaxing. "I guess it is." She rolled back over and pulled the thin blanket back up around her shoulders, trying to conceal the grin on her face. Shiro luaghed and reached over, taking hold of the blanket and pulling it off her. She grabbed it back and Shiro let her pull him down onto the cot, where she kissed him lightly on the lips and made him smile. It only seemed appropriate to her to act this way, as a sort of recompense for what she had done last night. Shiro had no complaints, as he put his arms around her and kissed her deeply before rising, holding her in his arms.

"We'd better get up to the third floor," he said, pressing his lips against hers one more time before setting her down. She smiled at him and they left, going up the stairs quietly, as most of the Saiyans were still sleeping in the early morning hours. They went through the normal routine, opening the windows, polishing the sconces, cleaning up the corridor as always. Katsu kept sending Shiro flirty little smiles and acting as though everything was okay, but inside she was in a turmoil. She knew that she liked Shiro, but she wasn't sure that this was the most honest expression of how she truly felt about him. She didn't know how she truly felt about him... and she couldn't figure out why she had this lingering feeling that there was someone else she wanted more.

They had barely taken two steps into the servants' stairwell, Shiro being careful to shut the door behind him, when he pounced on Katsu, pinning her gently to the wall and planting a deep kiss on her mouth.

"Shiro," she breathed, pushing him back and glancing around nervously. "Not _here._"

He smiled. "What could possibly happen _here_," he said. "No other servants will come this far up the stairwell, and the Saiyans are still asleep, and even if they weren't, they wouldn't look in here. I told you, they don't care what we do." Katsu still looked unconvinced. Shiro's face fell. "Well, if you really don't want to," he said slowly, starting to take a step back.

Katsu grabbed the collar of his black shirt and pulled him back, kissing him with all the passion she could muster. She felt his lips grinning against hers and then his hands went for the laces of her dress.

"_What_ is going on here?!"

Katsu pushed Shiro away from her with a gasp. Light was flooding the formerly darkened stairwell from the door at the top, which now stood open, Prince Vegeta's angry form outlined in it by the light.

Katsu grabbed Shiro, pulling him back to her, crushing him against her in her sudden terror.

"Y-your Highness," Shiro said, attempting to ease Katsu's grip as he spoke. "I apologize, we were just..."

Vegeta descended the few stairs with alarming quickness and grabbed Shiro, pulling him away from Katsu and throwing him easily back into the corridor. Katsu stared at Vegeta in horror, her eyes pleading with him not to harm her. 

"Your Highness, please-"

He cut her off, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her, screaming and kicking, back into the corridor. He did not throw her down by Shiro, but kept tight hold of her hair, wrenching it painfully until she stopped struggling.

Two Saiyan guards were already rushing up the corridor, having heard the ruckus, and the prince, seeing them, pointed a finger at Shiro.

"Take this servant to the dungeon," he said. "I want him locked away until I say he can come out." 

One of the guards nodded and cuffed Shiro, dragging him to his feet. 

"No!" Katsu began screaming and struggling again, and Vegeta used his free hand to punch her solidly in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She slumped weakly against him. Shiro saw this and his eyes widened, but he remained utterly silent. He cast a seething look at Vegeta, who smirked back, before the guard turned Shiro away and led him down the corridor.

Vegeta glared down at Katsu, who was leaning, dazed, against his legs. He straightened her up, still holding her by her hair, and smacked her across the face, more to snap her out of the daze then cause her pain. The other guard was standing by, waiting, expecting to take Katsu away to the dungeon as well.

Katsu looked up at Vegeta, still a little dazed, and mustered her strength. She spit on him, right in the face, knowing as she did it that he would probably fly into a rage and kill her, or at least order her killed.

He did neither. Anger boiled in his eyes but his face remained set in the same hard expression.

"And this girl," he said, looking up at the guard. "Take her to the dungeon as well. But tonight I want her in the courtyard. She's going to be flogged... and I'm going to do it myself." With this, he flung Katsu to the ground before the guard, then turned and walked back down the corridor, back towards his room. Katsu sent a seething look at his back, but did not give him the pleasure of hearing her scream or beg anymore, staying completely silent as the guard cuffed her and led her away.

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Ch 4

"Wicked Game" Ch. 4

By Shawna

"Katsu?"

The voice drifted out of the dank air and darkness that surrounded her, and Katsu raised her head from where it had been resting on her knees. She was curled up in the corner of her dungeon cell, sitting on the damp ground with her knees up, shackled by her ankles to the wall. 

"Shiro?" She called out weakly, thinking she recognized the voice that had spoken her name.

"Yes," he called back. "Katsu, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine," she said. Judging by his voice, Katsu thought he was probably about two cells down from her.

"That's good," Shiro said, sounding relieved. "Did he say anything about when either of us might be getting out of here?"

"No," Katsu replied, not wanting to tell him about how soon she would be getting out: any minute now. She had no sense of time, there was only darkness in the dungeon, but it had to have been nearly twelve hours since she had first been thrown down here and shackled. That would make it evening, and she was supposed to be taken to the courtyard. 

"Well, at least we can hear each other. I'm just glad to know you're okay." Shiro paused. "Katsu, I... I'm sorry. This is my fault, and I know that. I just didn't think this would happen... no one has ever gotten in trouble for that before, because, you know, they think of it as just maintaining their slave population. They used to think like that, anyway. I don't know what made Prince Vegeta get that mad."

Katsu said nothing. She wanted to be mad at Shiro, but she knew that what he said was true: it was odd that they should get in this much trouble for their actions. The flogging, though, was her own fault. She was the one who had spit in Vegeta's face; Shiro had nothing to do with that one. She sighed heavily, regretting her action now, already cringing at the thought of Vegeta whipping her. She knew he would be vicious, and she also thought it would probably bring him pleasure to cause her pain.

"What's wrong?" Shiro asked, breaking Katsu from her thoughts. "You sighed."

Katsu had no time to respond, as the door to the dungeon was thrown open then, the soft light of the setting sun streaming in. Two Saiyans entered the dungeon, one of them holding the keys to the cells in his hand. He unlocked Katsu's cell and the two entered, one of them grabbing her wrists while the other removed the shackles from her ankles. The one holding her wrists dragged her to her feet and out of the cell. Shiro was clutching the bars of his own cell, watching as Katsu went past, his eyes full of questions. Katsu turned her face away from him.

The two Saiyans dragged her hurriedly to the courtyard. Katsu had expected it to be full of Saiyans, ready to laugh and sneer at her punishment, but the courtyard was utterly deserted. There were two poles stuck in the ground near the middle of it, though, and it was to these that the two Saiyans took Katsu, binding one of her wrists tightly to each of the poles. There was a stand next to the poles that was full of weapons: a long rod, used for beatings, two whips, one barbed and the other smooth, and several daggers. Katsu cringed, her back beginning to tingle as she realized that this was actually going to happen, and it was going to hurt... _a lot._

More than a minute passed while she stood there, her wrists bound to the poles, stretching her arms out tight. The guards had disappeared and she was alone in the silence of the courtyard.

She didn't hear him approach, but Prince Vegeta was suddenly behind her, his breath hot on her neck as his hands moved her hair to the side, putting it all in front of her, over her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and swore to herself that she would make no noise during any of this. No matter how much it hurt, she would stay silent. She would not afford him the pleasure of hearing her scream.

"You probably expected a crowd," Vegeta said, his voice quiet and controlled. "At first, I thought I would make this open for everyone to see, but then I changed my mind." His hand slipped forward, around her neck, and he forced her head back until he could look down into her eyes. She stared up at him, unblinking, setting her face in a defiant look. He grinned, his fingers stroking her neck lightly and leaned down, pressing his lips to her ear. 

"Then I decided I wanted this to be just between the two of us," he whispered, in that same hard, condescending tone. His hand went back around behind her and he gripped the collar of her dress with both hands and ripped it easily open, revealing the pale skin of her back. She tensed all over as he ran a finger gently down her spine and laughed. He went over to the weapons rack and Katsu cringed as his hand lingered near the barbed whip. He selected the smooth one and then returned, placing himself far enough behind her that she would get the crack of the whip upon her back. She tightened all of her muscles, bracing for the pain, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth hard.

The first blow felt like a blaze of painful fire in a line, and her back arched inward, her head flying up and back. She bit the inside of her cheek, hard, to keep from screaming. The pain shot through her whole body, until she could feel the unpleasant tingle of it all the way to her toes and the tips of her fingers. The second blow was no better and her fists clenched so tight that her fingernails broke her own skin. She sucked in ragged breath and bit her cheek again when the third blow fell. She could tell by the sting of the past blows that they had cut deep into her skin and were welling with blood. She focused her mind on not screaming. She would not give Vegeta the pleasure of knowing how much pain he was causing her. The fourth strike hit, this one lower on her back, shooting pain through her body again. She clamped her eyes shut, drawing blood on her cheek when she bit it this time. She would not give in to the pain Vegeta was causing her. Vegeta.. why was he doing this? Why did he seem to take such delight in hurting her?

Her mind had become preoccupied with these sudden questions and when the fifth strike of the whip hit, Katsu was not prepared and could not hold it in. She screamed, but the sound was weak and broken, defeated and full of pain. Tears began to fall from her eyes as the pain consumed her body and the anguish of defeat filled her mind. She did not even bother to brace for the sixth blow, merely resigning herself to its coming.

It never came. She heard the whip hit the ground, knew that Vegeta had dropped it, and a second later he was by her, running his hands up her arm to her wrist to undo the bindings. His breath was ragged and his face looked troubled. He unbound both of her wrists in this manner and then caught her around the waist as she began to collapse forward. He called for the guards, but Katsu could barely hear, and she knew that his arms were around her waist, but that all seemed very far away. Her vision was dimming, she didn't know why. A second later the guards had a hold of both of her arms and were dragging her away, but she couldn't process to where they were taking her. Her mind screamed in protest when the reentered the dungeon, but her body felt suddenly too weak to do anything but be dragged. She was laid down on her stomach in her cell and the guards departed. She wanted to rise up, not lay like this on the dingy floor, but she had no strength left in her arms or any part of her body. She closed her eyes and let darkness claim her.

She was awakened some time later, by Shiro's gentle but insistent voice.

"Katsu, wake up. Please wake up, Katsu. I need to know that you're all right. Wake up."

She did not try to rise but instead turned herself around, so her head was facing the door to the cell. "I'm awake," she called weakly.

"Oh, Katsu, I was so worried, I thought you died in there. What happened? What did they do to you?"

"I was whipped," she said, her voice becoming very soft.

"You were what?"

"Whipped," she called, close to yelling now. "I was whipped because I spit in Vegeta's face after you were taken away."

Shiro was silent for a moment. Then, slowly, "You _spit_ in his face? Wow. That was bold. Foolish, but bold."

Katsu grinned despite herself. "Yeah," she said softly. "It felt great."

"Well, are you going to be okay? Did the whip cut into your skin?"

"Yes."

"I hope the cuts don't get infected, then. Are you lying on your stomach? Try not to let the cuts come in contact with any part of the walls or floor. It's pretty disgusting in here, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"Yes," she said softly. She wanted to reach around to feel her back, but she knew that that was not a good idea. Not only would that hurt quite a bit should she touch one of the cuts directly, but it would also increase her risk of infection, which was high enough already. She resisted the urge and stayed on her stomach, like she had been planning on and like Shiro had instructed her.

More than two days passed in this manner and Katsu was sore and stiff beyond belief when two guards came and retrieved her from the dungeon. Despite her efforts, her cuts stung horribly and she figured they were pretty well infected and, without treatment, such an infection could kill her. She had resigned herself to this. _So be it,_ she had thought. _This life sucks anyway._

She hated returning to the servants' basement quarters without Shiro, who was still in the dungeon, but she, of course, had no choice in the matter. The other servants avoided contact with her, having heard all about what had happened and how she had openly defied the prince. At the same time, they believed that Katsu's resistance was now broken. Far from it. Katsu could almost tangibly feel the infection in her back, but it did not bother her. Should she not heal the infection on her own, and come close to dying, she planned to take full advantage of it and rebel as much as she was capable of. For the time being, her rebellious spirit simmered in silence, waiting for a chance.

She found herself another black dress, this one a little too small but the best fit available, and crudely stitched the two eights off of her old dress onto the new one. The dress was tight, and chafed painfully against the cuts on her back, but she let the pain do nothing more than fuel her spirit.

The next morning, Prince Vegeta rang Katsu for his breakfast. She seethed at his nerve, but she had been expecting it, and took the tray dutifully up the stairs, slowly though, as each step brought a wave of pain from her back. She knocked softly on the door, as she always had before. It was different than before. When she entered the room and saw the prince sitting, watching her, anger so powerful flashed through her mind that she almost attacked him. She swallowed hard, breathing through her nose, and kept herself under control as she placed the tray on the table. She winced; bending over had caused another shot of pain down her back. She straightened slowly, gritting her teeth against the pain.

"What's wrong with you?"

She started when the prince spoke, but did not turn to face him for her reply.

"Nothing, your Highness."

"Don't lie to me, woman," he said with a snarl, rising from his chair. She tensed when he approached her, willing him not to touch her. He did, but he not only touched her, he smacked her, with quite a bit of force, on the back. Her face contorted and she gasped at the sudden, unexpected wave of pain.

Vegeta smirked. "Just as I thought. You let those cuts on your back get infected."

"Well, you put them there," she said angrily. "And you kept me locked in that filthy dungeon. It's not exactly my fault that they're infected."

Anger flashed in his eyes and he whirled her around and grabbed her by the jaw, pulling her face very close to his, his teeth gritted. She held her ground and stared defiantly back at him as his dark, rage filled eyes searched hers. His breath was hot on her face, and he was so close she could feel the warmth his skin radiated. She reached up slowly, gripped his hand, and pulled it away from her face. He resisted, but she put more pressure and pushed him away. He stared at her, his face becoming unreadable.

"Take off your dress," he said abruptly. Her eyes went wide. "Just the top part, baka. I want to see your back," he said, in a disgusted tone. "Nothing on your body could possibly interest me, but I'll turn around if it will protect your modesty," he added, his voice thick with sarcasm as he turned his back to her.

Katsu did not move for several seconds, wondering what the prince was going to do to her. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she did as he asked. She turned around, facing the wall, and hastily unlaced her dress, lest he lose patience. She took her arms out of the sleeves and peeled the dress down, letting it hang around her waist. She crossed her arms over her bare chest, feeling suddenly awkward and very exposed.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Vegeta had already turned around. He beckoned her to come to him and her stomach twisted up in knots. Despite all of her anger and hate towards him, her earlier sentiments about him hit her in that moment: he was very handsome. His shirt was skin tight, showcasing his perfect upper body and his face was set with hard, masculine features. She bit her lip, embarrassed at her own thoughts, and stepped carefully backwards toward him. She stopped right in front of him, keeping her face straight ahead. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she didn't know why. Several seconds passed and he said nothing. She wondered what he was thinking. He had said nothing about her body interested him, which made her suddenly upset. Why should she be so attracted to him when he was repulsed by her? He despised her, had struck her, whipped her, tried to break her spirit. How could she possibly still be attracted to him?

"Go lie down on the bed," he said, turning and walking towards the door. She looked after him curiously, but did as he said, walking over and stretching herself out on her stomach on the amazingly soft and comfortable bed. Vegeta opened the door and stuck his head out.

"Hey! You! Get me tincture, a lot of it!"

She figured he must be yelling to one of the guards, for there was the sound of hurrying feet and a minute later someone came to the door and handed Vegeta a bottle of clear liquid that had a brush attached to its cap. Vegeta slammed the door and turned towards the bed and Katsu hastily looked away. She turned her face away from the side of the bed that Vegeta came to and tensed as he sat down beside her.

"This will hurt," he said, unscrewing the top of the bottle. "But it will fight the infection and heal the cuts faster. It's very primitive compared with what we Saiyans use to heal ourselves, but its more than good enough for a servant."

The liquid was cold on her back and it did sting quite a bit. She hissed lightly at the pain but did not flinch. Vegeta brushed the liquid into the gashes across her back with surprising gentleness and she pictured in her mind the way he must look with his serious face, perfect body, and his powerful arms softly brushing tincture onto her bare back. She grinned at the image in her mind, enjoying it. He finished with the fifth cut and then placed the bottle of tincture under the bed.

"You can wait here until that dries," he said, rising. "Then get out."

She said nothing as he walked away, instead closing her eyes and relaxing her body. She could not remember how soft her own bed back home had been, but it certainly couldn't have been this comfortable. Perhaps this bed just seemed so nice because she had grown used to sleeping on a rough, uncomfortable cot, but either way, she did not want to leave it. She waited, willing the sting and feeling of wetness on her back to linger. The feelings faded all too quickly, though, and she was sure Vegeta would say something if she didn't leave soon. She rose and, being careful to keep her back to where Vegeta sat, pulled her dress up and relaced it.

She turned to face him and the dress was laced. "Why did you do that?" She asked, fully aware of the fact that she should not question the one decent thing he had done for her since she arrived.

He was silent for a moment. "I'm not out to kill you, you know," he said, not looking at her. "I was just turning you into a good servant. And now that I've done it, I'm not going to just let you die, or else I'll have to train someone else." 

It was not the answer she wanted to hear, but at least he had not gotten angry at her. She walked slowly towards the door, casting one single glance over her shoulder at the prince, sitting before the window, his head resting on one of his fists, his face thoughtful. As her hand fell on the door, he spoke.

"I'll have to put more on tomorrow, and for a few days until you heal. Don't say anything to anyone about this. If you do, I'll whip you again and put you back in the dungeon, and I won't come to your rescue again."

"I won't say anything, your Highness," she said softly, sadly. She opened the door and left quickly, feeling as though she might cry. If she had not been in such a hurry and looked over her shoulder, she would have seen Prince Vegeta put his head down into his hand and clench his other fist tight.

**To Be Continued.**


	5. Ch 5

"Wicked Game" Ch. 5

By Shawna

A/N: I finally saw an episode that gave a more complete history of Vegeta. Well, lets just say that I've decided to call it "creative liberties" here: meaning that the planet Vegeta was destroyed quite a few years later in this story than it was in the series. However, I've tried to keep the story basically the same. Deal with it. ^_^ 

It was two weeks later when Shiro finally got out of the dungeon. He came trudging back into the servants' quarters just as Katsu was settling down on her cot to go to sleep. For a few seconds she could only stare at him: his face was pale and drawn, streaked with dirt, there was blood on his clothes, a tear in one of his tall ears, causing it to hang over, and he was limping. A second later she ran to him, and wrapped her arms around him gently and carefully to help him to his cot. He said nothing and so Katsu chose not to speak either. She helped him remove his soiled shirt and laid him back softly on his cot. The blood on his clothes had apparently come from a severe nosebleed, and his nose was still swollen. The tear in his ear looked to be getting infected and the first thing that came to Katsu's mind was the tincture that was still under Vegeta's bed, though her cuts had healed sufficiently to not need it anymore a week earlier.

"He beat me," Shiro whispered softly, unexpectedly. "Prince Vegeta. I was doing all right for being in the dungeon until two days ago... The prince came in and beat me. It was the middle of the night. He was in such a rage..."

Katsu laid her hand softly on Shiro's forehead. "Don't talk anymore," she said gently. "Just rest." She stroked his forehead lightly, soothing him, keeping her face calm, but her mind had become troubled. She could not understand why the prince would suddenly become enraged at Shiro like that, in the middle of the night, almost two weeks after the initial incident that had landed him in the dungeon. Vegeta's anger had not made sense in the first place, and it was definitely even more puzzling now. 

Shiro's body relaxed and it wasn't long before his breathing was deep and even and she knew he was asleep. She sighed quietly before going to her own cot, settling down onto it slowly. She didn't know why Vegeta's behavior should trouble her so much, because, after all, she hadn't been here that long and this might be the way he always was. Shiro had been here his whole life, though, and he seemed surprised at the way the prince was acting, so something must be different. Katsu had no idea what it could be though, but she was now determined to find out.

The next morning dawned warm, warmer than any day Katsu had felt on this planet before. The season was obviously changing, and Katsu wondered with some dread just how hot it might get in the coming months. A memory returned to her just then, as she was thinking about the weather, that her home planet had always been relatively cool with very little change in temperature between the seasons. She sat still for a while, grasping the memory in her mind. Her memories were returning, slowly, and hopefully it would only be a matter of time before she could remember everything.

"What's wrong, Katsu? You look spooked."

Katsu started when Shiro spoke, not having heard him come up behind her.

"I just had a memory come back to me," she said softly. "It never got hot on my planet. I suddenly remembered that."

"You got a memory back?" Shiro placed a hand on Katsu's shoulder. "Well, thats good, isn't it? Why do you look so upset?"

"I'm just frustrated," she said with a sigh. "It's hard not knowing who exactly I am or where I came from. And..." She paused, looking down and clenching her fists. "I hate it here. I want to get out of here so bad, I want to go back to my planet and remember everything. I don't even know if my planet is there anymore, or if anyone is alive. I can't stand this not knowing. I hate it! I hate everything about this place!"

Shiro's hand tightened on her shoulder. "We all hate it here, Katsu. Everyone wishes they could escape. However, most of us don't have a planet to go back to, because the Saiyans destroyed it. I know how you feel, though. I wish I could get out of here. Its frustrating to be this helpless."

"Has anyone ever tried to escape?" Katsu looked up at Shiro, her eyes shining. "Has anyone ever done it? Has anyone ever gotten away?"

Shiro's face hardened and he pulled Katsu to her feet, placing a hand on either side of her face, drawing her near to him. "No, Katsu," he said firmly. "No one has ever escaped. Those who've tried haven't gotten far, and they've all been tortured to death after they were caught. All of us know now that its stupid to even make an attempt. Don't get any ideas, none at all. I won't let you get yourself killed. I don't want to see you beaten to death, especially not by... that monster."

"The prince?" Katsu was confused. "What does he have to do with this?"  
"He's got it in for you, Katsu," Shiro said, releasing her and turning away. "I think he wants to do something terrible to you. I just want you to watch yourself. Now come on, we have to get to work." He walked away quickly, leaving Katsu feeling even more confused. What had given Shiro that impression? Because the prince had whipped her for spitting on him? That didn't seem to say anything, and Vegeta had said himself that he was not out to kill her. Katsu shook her head, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by all that was happening. She hurried after Shiro, trying to clear her mind and relax for the time being.

It was not until that evening that Katsu's wrist cuff sounded and she was startled by the sudden noise. She glared at it for a second, then looked over at Shiro, who was resting on his cot, his nose still swollen and the gash in his ear discolored. He turned his eyes to her questioningly, wondering why she had not yet gone to answer the prince's call. She rose slowly, looking away from Shiro, not making eye contact with him as she passed his cot and went out the door and up the stairs. Dinner had already passed, and she was a bit curious as to what the prince would want, as he never seemed to call her wanting anything between meals. 

She knocked on the door to his room softly and entered upon hearing the customary silence. The window was wide open, the light of the waxing moon spilling in and a soft, warm breeze rustling the curtains. The prince was seated before the window, his eyes closed, his arms folded over his chest. Two empty wine glasses sat on the small table beside his chair. She approached slowly, quietly, and stopped beside him.

"Get me another glass of wine," he said in a quiet voice, not opening his eyes.

"Yes, your Highness," she whispered, scooping the empty glasses into her hand and turning around to exit the room. She was almost to the door when the prince spoke.

"Wait."

She turned around to face him; his eyes were still closed, his arms still folded. He had not moved, except to speak.

"Why don't you just bring me a whole bottle," he said, his voice still quiet and monotone. "Something red. I don't really care what."

"Yes, your Highness," she repeated dryly and left the room. She walked down the hall quickly, thinking that it was almost eerie to see the prince so quiet, so still in the moonlight. She found herself wondering if there was something on his mind and what it might be. He rarely drank wine, she knew that, and it piqued her curiosity that he should suddenly want so much of it. She went down the stairs, passed the servants' quarters and to the wine cellar, browsing the selection briefly until she found a deep red wine in a fancy bottle and decided it would do fine. She climbed the stairs slowly, thinking about what might be upsetting the prince, if that were indeed the case. He looked so troubled and so stressed, sitting in that chair, unmoving. She had noticed the way his fists were clenched, his arms crossed tightly, his whole body tensed as if he were about to do something that he was not looking forward to at all. 

She was engrossed in her thoughts and forgot to even knock before reentering the prince's room. He did not seem to notice and said nothing as she approached, setting the bottle of wine and the glasses gently down on the small table. His eyes remained closed, but he reached out his hand and wrapped it around the bottle, uncorking it and refilling a glass in one fluid motion. He brought the glass to his lips and took a long, slow drink. She stood silently by, waiting for him to dismiss her, wondering if he'd forgotten she was here.

He said nothing, only heaving a sigh when he set the glass back on the table, then pressing his hands to his face. Katsu was startled. He was obviously upset, but she wasn't sure how to approach the situation. Her first instincts were to try and comfort him, and she almost reached out her hand to touch him before remembering who he was. He was not like people she had known before and it would be unwise to touch him. She reminded herself of the things he had done and that she hated him, but she could not stop herself from feeling sorry for him, and aching to comfort him. 

"Come stand here," he said quietly, pointing to the ground right in front of him. She obeyed quickly, but felt confused and a bit nervous, because of what had happened last time he had asked her to stand next to him. She stood before him, keeping her eyes down, her gaze fixing on his knees.

She could make out that his eyes were on her face, and he was taking another long drink from the wine glass, but she kept her gaze down.

"Look at me," he said quietly, and Katsu was startled. She looked up quickly, her eyes meeting his, and she was surprised at the look she found there. His eyes were bright and shining and looked almost gentle, his face was soft and relaxed, not fixed in its usual scowl. The moonlight illuminated his skin, making it glow, and he looked so handsome to Katsu in that moment, and she felt the strongest urge to reach out and touch him. She concentrated on keeping her arms firmly by her sides. 

"You're beautiful," he breathed, and there was a touch of surprise in his tone, as if he was just noticing it or was seeing her for the first time. Katsu's eyes widened. It suddenly felt like her stomach was full of butterflies, but it was not an entirely unpleasant sensation, and a blush crept into her cheeks.

"I think you've had too much to drink," she said softly, knowing that that was the only reason he would suddenly act like this towards her, instead of in his usual violent manner. 

He laughed quietly, a sound that was gentle and nothing like his usual loud, scornful sound. "I know I've had too much," he said. "Or else I would never look at a servant the way I'm looking at you now." He reached his arm out slowly, wrapped it around her waist. Katsu tensed, but at the same time she was excited, she could feel her blood rushing through her body, her pulse quickening. In one swift motion Vegeta brought her down sideways onto his lap, his arm staying around her waist while the other slipped behind her head. He stared into her eyes.

"I don't think you should-" She began, but he cut her off.

"I just want to hold you," he said gently, drawing her against him, putting his chin on her shoulder. "I'm just going to hold you for awhile. Then you can go."

She tried to relax in his arms, putting her legs over the arm of the chair and making herself comfortable. It seemed the appropriate thing to do, so she wrapped her arms around him. She never could have imagined herself in this position, sitting in the prince's lap embracing him. Something was obviously wrong with him, besides the fact that he had been drinking. He seemed so sad.

"I usually repress my emotions, never show them," he said in a whisper so quiet Katsu could barely hear him. "I'm beginning to not even feel them anymore. Most of the time it doesn't bother me, but I'm a person. I have feelings. Saiyans don't express their emotions much, but they're allowed to have them. I'm being forced to feel nothing. I hate it sometimes... but, like I said, alot of the time I don't feel anything anymore."

Katsu could think of nothing that seemed appropriate to say, especially since she had no idea what he was talking about or why he would be in a situation like the one he was decribing. Instead she just tightened her grip on him, bringing one hand up to run through his hair.

It was some time later when he finally loosened his arms, gripping her around the waist and lifting her to her feet. She stood where he placed her, waiting to see if he would speak again or if he would dismiss her.

"You can go," he whispered.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She asked without thinking about it. She immediately clapped a hand to her mouth, embarrassed for having spoken out of turn. "I'm sorry," she breathed before turning to go.

A second later his hand was around her wrist and she whirled around to face him and he crushed her against him. He was trembling all over. 

_I think he's… crying._ Katsu's eyes grew wide at this thought. 

A second later he drew away from her, and though his eyes were shining she could not tell if it was because they were misty or if it was from the alcohol. He pressed a hand to either side of her face, tilting her head upward, drawing her close as he leaned down. Katsu had the urge to pull away, but she did not. She relaxed, letting her lips part slightly, suddenly feeling a course of excitement through her whole body.

But he stopped before their lips met. He was so close to her, she could see his eyes right in front of hers. All of her nerves seemed to be on edge, and it seemed the next few seconds lasted forever. She was aware of his hip bones pressing into her just above her own, of the fact that she could feel his heart beating against her chest. One of her hands was on his back, and all of his muscles under her palm were tensed. Her other hand was on his neck and she could feel his pulse throbbing against her fingers. His lips were so close, she could just barely feel them touching her own.

And then he stepped back, giving her a slight push that sent her back a few steps as well. She nearly lost her balance, and was surprised and suddenly angry at his abrupt movement. She looked at him, but his head was down and his teeth were gritted.

"Leave," he said without looking at her. "Now. Quickly."

She lingered only a second, part of her wanting to stay, wanting to feel his embrace and his perfect body again, but a stronger part of her suddenly felt very violated by what had just transpired. She turned on her heel and fled the room at a run.

She was only halfway down the stairs when anger and disgust nearly overpowered her. _What did I just allow to happen? What's going on?_ She bashed her fist against the wall in the stairwell, angry and in a deeper part of her mind, sad and frustrated. She took several deep breaths, calming herself so she would not attract undue attention when she got back to the servants' quarters.

Shiro was the only one who looked up when she came back in. Most of the other servants were already in their beds, asleep or getting close to it. Shiro eyed her curiously, but she shrugged, and then faked a deep yawn, not wanting to talk to him at the moment. She picked up her sleeping clothes and disappeared behind the changing curtain. She came out and saw that Shiro was still watching her and so she trudged to her cot and collapsed on it as if she was fighting to keep awake. Shiro stared at her for a few seconds and then laid down himself.

Katsu was awake for a good hour after this, thinking. _I saw something special tonight,_ she thought. _I think I might have seen who the prince really is._ She tried not to think about the intimate encounter they had nearly shared, but it stayed in her mind, and it made her stomach feel funny to think about. She wondered if she had ever been with anyone on her planet. She thought about this more, thinking it might trigger a memory to return, but she fell asleep still thinking about it, and without any new memories.

It was about a half hour before dawn when Katsu was awakened by the beeping of her wrist cuff. She groaned and leaned down, grabbing her dress where it was folded under her cot, and rumpled it, covering the wrist cuff. The beeping was still audible. The servant in the cot next to hers cursed and she sighed and rose, taking the dress with her. Her brain was still fuzzy with sleep and she did not bother to change into the dress. She dragged herself up the stairs in her white sleeping shirt, clutching her black dress in front of her.

Prince Vegeta was waiting at his door when she arrived. He grabbed her and threw her into his room, slamming the door behind him. This woke her up fast and she quickly noted the raging anger in his eyes. She cowered when he stepped menacingly towards her, but her back hit the wall and she had nowhere to go as he closed the distance between them. He pressed a hand against the wall on either side of her head and leaned his head in close to her, his teeth gritted, dark eyes full of rage.

"I was drunk last night," he said in a voice that was low and dangerous. "Do you get it? I don't even really remember what happened, but anything I said, anything I did, it wasn't really me. I'd just had way too much to drink and you happened to witness it."

"You hadn't had that much," she muttered, feeling angry and hurt that he was suddenly back to his old violent, controlling self.

He drew back one of his hands, clenched it into a fist and she braced for him to punch her. He threw the punch so fast she couldn't see it and it hit with a jarring impact, his fist burying itself in the wall right beside her head. She had been holding her breath and she let it out slowly as she realized that he had not, and was not going to hit her.

"You have no idea how much I'd had before you came," he said in that same hard, quiet voice. "I obviously said something that made you think you could be cocky with me. As I said, I barely remember what happened. You might as well forget that it happened yourself. If you say anything to anyone about whatever happened in here last night, I swear I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

Her face fell out of its defiant look, dropping until she just looked sad and hurt. "I understand."

"Good," he stepped away from her, turning his back. "Now get out."

Katsu fled as she had the night before. Anger and hurt boiled in her veins. _I guess I was wrong,_ she thought. _I didn't see the prince as he truly is. I just saw him drunk. He's not sensitive and he's not having some sort of life-changing problem. He was just born the way he is…_

This was what she told herself, but she could not help but think in the back of her mind, that she had been right. The alcohol had lowered the prince's guard, dropped his inhibitions and he had shown his true self. He had revealed it to her and now that the influence of the alcohol had worn off it was making him feel vulnerable. He remembered everything that had happened. He was just afraid of what it might mean.

**To be continued…** 


	6. Ch 6

"Wicked Game" Ch. 6

By Shawna

Katsu was disconsolate. Even she was not entirely sure why, but the rest of the day she dragged around as if trapped underwater, and nothing Shiro said could snap her out of it. He seemed genuinely upset by this fact and doted on her. Once he tried to kiss her on the lips, but she turned away and he ended up with a mouthful of her jaw line.

"What's wrong with you, Katsu?" He asked that evening, as they were getting ready to take out the dinner. "I'm seriously worried about you. Did Vegeta do something to you?" His face hardened at this and he clenched a fist.

"No," she said hastily. "He didn't do anything." Shiro eyed her suspiciously, but she just shrugged and looked away. There was no way she would tell him what happened. She could not get it out of her head, though; the way Vegeta's body had felt pressed against her, the hardness of his muscles, the feel of his hair, the heat of his skin, the way she could just barely feel the softness of his lips when he had come so close to kissing her. She shivered, feeling an electric tingle in her body. She didn't understand why thinking of what had happened should make her excited at all. He had said himself that he was drunk, and he had threatened to take her life if she told anyone about it. Why should he be so scared she might tell if he couldn't remember it himself? 

_He remembers it,_ she thought. _He remembers exactly what he did and that's what he's scared of… everyone finding out that he came on to a servant._ She had no intention of telling anyone, but she did not think they would believe her even if she did. She would most likely just get punished for lying, and Vegeta might even make good on his threat. She swallowed hard. Vegeta scared her, there was no doubt about that, but at the same time he excited her, drew her, aroused her. This thought caused a flush to come over her cheeks and she clenched her fists tight. She hated him as much as she was attracted to him; hated him for the things he had done and because she was attracted regardless. She had once been convinced that he hated her as well, but after what had happened on the previous night, she was no longer sure. Perhaps he had just been in desperate need of some company, and she had been most readily available. Or perhaps…

"I wish you would tell me what was bothering you," Shiro said, sounding frustrated by her reticence. She started when he spoke, her thoughts disrupted.

"Nothing's bothering me," she said again, firmly, irritated that he continued to ask her instead of accepting her silence and letting the matter rest. "I wish you would leave me alone about it. I just don't feel very good. My stomach hurts." This was an outright lie, and she hoped Shiro would not see through it. He did not look entirely convinced by this excuse, but said nothing for several moments.

"We better take out the dinner," he said softly when he finally did speak. He rose, moving away from her, taking up a tray of the food that had been prepared and leaving silently with it. Katsu watched him go, feeling suddenly bad for how she had acted. The last thing she wanted to do right now was alienate the only friend she had in this place. Shiro had always been kind to her, and he obviously cherished her as a little bit more than just a friend, given all of the kisses and embraces he had given her. At the same time, he did not pay all that much attention to her, given that she was the only one to whom he paid any attention at all. She was as confused about the true nature of Shiro's feelings as she was about Prince Vegeta in general. 

"Are you going?" A kitchen maid asked irritably. "Shiro's waiting for you at the top of the stairs." Katsu looked up dully and then sighed as she rose. She picked up another of the trays and climbed slowly up the stairs, not making eye contact with Shiro when she met him at the top. He likewise said nothing, only pushing the door open and allowing her to go first. They walked to the dining room in silence.

"You know you have to go," the king was saying when Katsu and Shiro entered the room. "I don't want you to, of course not, but we don't have a choice. We must do as he asks…"

Vegeta held up a hand to silence his father, nodding his head toward Katsu and Shiro. The king looked at them, then back at Vegeta understandingly, and spoke no more. Katsu was instantly curious. It occurred to her that the things Vegeta had told her in his room the previous night probably had something to do with what his father had just been talking about. But what was that? Where did Vegeta have to go? And who could possibly command enough power that even these mighty Saiyans would fear him and do his bidding?

Shiro had to elbow Katsu to get her moving quickly again, towards the table. Her thoughts had absorbed her and she had been almost standing still in the middle of the dining room. She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts and storing away her current thought pattern for later. Vegeta's eyes were intent upon her face as she laid his tray down in front of him. She kept her eyes down nervously, but her gaze fell on his hand, resting on the table, and she saw the way it was tensed. Her gaze traveled up his arm, seeing that all his muscles were tensed. Her eyes fell briefly on his face, and she saw that he was staring at her, looking half angry. She looked away quickly, turning her back to him and hurrying out of the room. Shiro followed more slowly behind her. The heavy doors closed behind them, and then the king resumed talking to Vegeta, but his voice was too muffled for Katsu to make out his words. She hurried down the hall, leaving Shiro behind her, her thoughts a confused turmoil and her curiosity piqued by what she had heard.

It was later that night, as Katsu was just about to change into her sleeping clothes that her wrist cuff sounded. She groaned, feeling tired, not wanting to drag herself back up the stairs to see what the prince wanted. Refusing to obey the prince was not an option, however, so she dutifully left the servants' quarters, heading quickly back up the stairs, eager to see what he wanted so she could go to bed. It did occur to her to be a bit nervous as to how the prince might be acting this time, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she swallowed her fear and went a little faster.

She knocked upon reaching the door, something she barely noticed doing anymore, as it had become habitual. It had also become habitual to enter just after knocking, when nothing but silence was heard, so she did this as well. A light was on the room and the drapes were drawn, which was unusual, as the prince normally just opened the window to the light of the moon and stars. Tonight was exceptionally bright, as well, as Katsu could tell by the glowing silver line that crept in under the curtains. The moon must be brilliantly full and she wondered why Vegeta would shut it away.

She glanced around, not seeing Vegeta in his usual chair or on the bed. She took a few more steps into the room. The bathroom door stood open; the light was on, streaming into the main room, and she could see herself in the large mirror on the wall, but the bathroom itself was clearly empty. She heard a very soft rustle behind her and braced, about to whirl around when Vegeta's hand slipped around her, flattening on her upper chest as he pulled her backwards, against him. She gasped as he pressed his lips against the back of her ear.

"I trust you haven't told anyone about what happened," he said softly, his voice having its usual sharp edge. His other hand came up and wrapped lightly around her neck. "I wouldn't want to have to kill you now."

She squirmed, but it was impossible to break out of his grasp. "I haven't told anyone," she said desperately, chills sweeping through her body as his hand tightened slightly on her neck and his other hand slid lower on her chest. Her stomach felt like it was twisted in knots, but for some reason it felt almost good, despite her fear. She willed herself to relax, to stop fearing him, because she knew he could sense it. She took a deep breath, eased her tightened muscles. 

Vegeta snorted. "Yes," he said sarcastically. "Relax your body. Then I won't think you're scared."

She cursed inwardly. He had known what she was trying to do. 

"I know you fear me," he said silkily. "All I have to do is clench my fist and you become terrified. You're just like the others in that respect. However, you don't cower like them. Its one thing I think I like about you: you don't act like a sniveling dog around me."

He was right, Katsu did fear him, but she was surprised that he had said anything along the lines of liking something about her. She had little time to think about it, though, as a second later she felt something sliding up her leg. She squirmed again, but Vegeta was holding her tightly now and she could barely move. She reached a hand back as far as she could with Vegeta's arms around hers and her fingers just barely touched something covered in soft fur. It was the prince's tail that she was touching, and it was definitely his tail that was sliding up her leg. Her breath quickened and her muscles tensed again without her volition as his tail slid up under her dress, up her outer thigh.

Vegeta's chest was rock-hard against her back, and it rose sharply, falling back again quickly as he exhaled, warm and heavy against the back of her neck. She felt flushed, and as they had the night before, her nerves seemed to stand on end, and she was sensitive to every sensation in her body. She could feel the curves of Vegeta's muscles against her back and the backs of her legs. She straightened her arms, reaching them back slightly until she could touch the outer sides of Vegeta's thighs, and she gripped lightly at the perfect muscle curve she found there. He breathed in sharply, his hand sliding down fully onto her chest. His other hand still gripped her neck, and he used it to force her head to one side. He nuzzled the newly revealed skin of her neck, breathing deeply, inhaling her smell. She moaned lightly when he ran his lips across the pale and sensitive flesh. She realized suddenly that her eyes had been closed since she had first felt his tail on her leg, the tail which was now sliding up and down her inner thigh. She opened her eyes, and saw herself reflected in the bathroom mirror, Vegeta wrapped around her from behind, his lips pressed against her neck. He looked up then, too, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror. For a moment they stared at each other in the reflection, and then Vegeta's face hardened, and he released her, taking a step back, away from her and out of the mirror's range. Katsu was left feeling cold in the places where he had been in contact with her, and confused as to why he suddenly pulled away. She turned around to face him.

His back was already to her. "You're dismissed now," he said casually as he walked away, all his previous ardor gone. She stood staring after him, amazed at his attitude; the way he acted as though absolutely nothing had just been happening. He stopped walking, turned his head to glare at her.

"I said you were dismissed," he growled. "Why are you still here?" 

She blinked a few times in rapid succession. His eyes narrowed, so she turned and walked calmly out of the room, still feeling shocked about what had just transpired.

She had barely made it into the stairwell when she broke down, collapsing against the wall, pounding her fists on it in a fit of rage. _What is he doing to me? Is he just playing with me again? Is this a game to him?_ She could not understand his actions. One minute he drew her to him intimately, and as soon as things got hot enough, he backed out. He had yet to even kiss her on the lips, and she was doubting that he would ever get that far. She fumed, and her body felt suffused by her powerful rage. She stood, breathing deeply, feeling it coming over her. But why did she want him to? She cursed herself for every kind of a fool, taking any pleasure from the touch of one who had caused her so much pain. She would not let him touch her again. She swore to herself that if he tried anything, she would fight back, even if it meant getting killed. She would not let that monster take any pleasure from her body, the body he had told her so many times didn't interest him.

The more she thought about, the more her anger, frustration, and bitter disappointment soared beyond anything she had felt before. Her fist clenched, and she drew it back, feeling as though she was in slow motion. She slammed her fist into the wall, and it broke through with a splintering crash. She froze, shocked at what she had just done, and the warm feeling in her body vanished. She stared at her fist, imbedded in the stairwell wall. She had never thought she was anywhere near strong enough to put her fist through one of these walls. A few seconds later, the stairwell door was thrown open and the prince stood atop the stairs, looking down at her. His eyes widened when he saw her slowly draw her fist out of the wall. She turned to look at him, and there was fear in her eyes, not just of him, but of what she had just done. She looked for a few seconds, and then she turned and ran down the stairs. He did not follow her.

She hurried down the stairs in a sort of haze, wondering what had come over her in the stairwell, remembering how her anger had increased and seemed to spread throughout her until she had the burst of strength that had sent her fist through the wall. Something inside her told her that amplifying her power like she had just done was something natural, something she could do quite easily when she was angry enough. It was another memory, a memory of being trained on her planet to harness the energy that all of her people naturally created. She stopped in her tracks, letting the memory sink into her brain. She had been trained to fight, trained to increase her power with her anger as she had just done. She was not a born fighter, but she could be a strong fighter nonetheless. A feeling of excitement ran through her; she had power. She could test her power on the guards, see if when she amplified she was stronger than these Saiyans. Her ability might be her ticket to freedom.

**To be continued…**


	7. Ch 7

"Wicked Game" Ch. 7

By Shawna

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has left me a review! All of your reviews have been so kind, and I never expected such a good reaction to this story. Thanks again! 

"I really don't think you should do that."

This was the first thing Shiro said when Katsu told him about what she had discovered she could do the night before and her plans to try her strength on one of the Saiyans. She clenched her fists determinedly.

"Why shouldn't I?" She said. "I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life. If I can fight and get away, it will be worth it. If I'm not strong enough and they put me to death, that's fine too. I'd rather die fighting then stay here."

Shiro looked upset. "Don't talk like that," he said firmly. "I don't want you to die, and I'm not going to let you commit suicide by doing something so stupid. Even if you are stronger than a Saiyan, you won't be powerful enough to get past all of the guards here."

"I don't have to get past them all," she said emphatically. "I can sneak away in the night, and get rid of any guards I might meet along the way."

Shiro put his head in his hands and groaned. "You're being too optimistic, as much as I hate to say that. You have no hope of escape. Once one guard sees you, he'll call for all the other guards with his wrist monitor and you'll get caught. I don't want to see that happen to you, Katsu. I like you, you know that, and I wish you could just accept what life has given you and try to make the best of it."

Katsu stared at him in disbelief. "Make the best of it?!" She fumed. "We're slaves, Shiro! Slaves! These Saiyans can beat us or kill us anytime they want! You can't make the best of a situation like that."

Shiro had no retort for this. He looked at her sadly and shook his head with a sigh. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed angrily, turning her head away from him.

Shiro put a hand gently on her cheek, turning her back to face him. "I don't want to fight with you, Katsu," he said gently. "We're all each other has in this forsaken place, so we shouldn't fight. I just want you to promise me, please, that you won't try to escape. Not without some better planning at least."

Katsu's mood softened and she put her hand over Shiro's. "All right," she said softly. "I won't try anything... rash."

He grinned and before Katsu knew what he was doing he had planted a kiss on her lips. She responded briefly and then pulled away, to Shiro's disappointment. He apparently decided that to say anything would be to start another fight, so he kept silent, but drew Katsu into a warm hug. She allowed this, was even thankful for it, and responded by wrapping her arms around him and holding him for some time.

She kept her promise, for about ten hours. That evening she followed through with her original intentions, sneaking away, unnoticed up the stairs and into the main palace. There were guards everywhere, but in groups of two, and she wanted to challenge a single one. She had to scale the main stairs to the second floor before finding a guard without a partner. She walked up to him, positioning herself resolutely in front of him. He eyed her quizzically for a moment.

"You need directions somewhere?" He asked in a condescending tone. 

"No," she said easily. "I need a fight. You think you can take me on?"

She saw the instant rush of anger in his eyes, but with it there was obvious glee at the thought of a fight. "Oh, you stupid woman. You really think a slave like you could even get a hit in on me? Pathetic. You're lucky I don't just kill you now. I'm in a good mood, though, so run along and I'll pretend you never opened your ugly mouth."

This angered Katsu, as she had hoped it would. The anger began to spread through her body and she concentrated on focusing it, amplifying it into useable energy. She growled and the guard's eyes widened at her obvious challenge. She took her first swing, hitting him squarely in the jaw, feeling the force of the impact in her wrist. The guard yelped in pain and surprise, clapping a hand to the spot where her fist had struck.

"Oh, you bitch!" He screamed. "You bitch! You hit me!"

"Well, try to hit me back," she taunted, jumping lightly back a few steps. He snarled and came forward, clenching his fist. She felt as though she were outside of her body, watching herself as she ducked under the first blow and landed an elbow in the guard's stomach. She bounced away, but he turned too quickly for her retreat and caught her by the wrist. She tried to twist out of his grip, but he used her previous momentum to swing her around, sending her flying to the ground. She landed with a cry, feeling pain shoot up her back from her tail bone, and then popped back to her feet. 

The guard readied for another attack, but then he froze. His eyes were wide, staring over her shoulder. She wondered briefly if he was trying to trick her, to get her to look over her shoulder so he could attack when her guard was down. She kept her eyes on him and her hands up. 

And then she felt the air move beside her and her stomach dropped as Prince Vegeta walked past, looking angrily at the guard. Before the guard could move, Vegeta had landed a solid blow to his face and the guard fell backwards as a fan of blood spurted from his nose. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Vegeta yelled. "Trying to damage _my_ servant?"

"But, but she hit me first," the guard blubbered, sounding just like a child, talking about who "started" it. 

"I don't care if she hit you first!" Vegeta said firmly, his voice returned to its normal volume, but still possessing an unusually sharp edge in his anger. "You don't have authorization to touch my property!"

A pang of rage hit Katsu when Vegeta said this. _His property!_ She fumed. _How dare he! I'm not his "property."_ This was not true, however, as Katsu knew quite well. She was very much Vegeta's property, as was Shiro.

"Get off the ground," Vegeta said to the guard in disgust. "You're disgracing the name of Saiyan." The guard hurried to pick himself up as Vegeta turned away and strode back to Katsu. She was still angry, more angry than before even, and her body felt hot as flame. She was pumped for a fight, and as Vegeta came back towards her, it came to her head that now was her chance to strike him back for all the times he had hit her.

"I wish you wouldn't pick fights with the guards," he was saying. "They may not be as strong as I am, but they're still plenty strong enough to hurt you."

He was a mere two steps from her. It was now or never. _I have to do this,_ she thought. _I want to do this. I'm going to cause him pain._ Hatred for him boiled in her veins and gave her strength. She jumped forward, already drawing back her fist, and threw her punch before Vegeta could know what she was doing and block. Her fist connected with his face squarely in the nose, and she felt this impact all the way to her shoulder, jarring the bones in her arm, hurting her hand. At the same time, she relished the feel of something rupturing beneath her knuckles, hoping that his nose would spurt blood as the guard's had, knowing the satisfaction she would get from that.

Vegeta stumbled back a step or two, his head back, as Katsu jumped back from her attack, immediately taking up a defensive position. Vegeta stood where he was as she stared. He took a deep breath, his chest rose and fell, and then he lowered his head slowly, very slowly, until he was staring right back at Katsu. The rage in his eyes was very controlled, cold, calculating, almost calm, and that was more terrifying to Katsu than any uncontrollable anger he might have shown. A thin trail of blood trickled from his nose.

Katsu had stopped concentrating, her anger had given way to fear, and the warm, pulsing feeling of power had abandoned her body. Vegeta wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and then walked right by Katsu, grabbing her wrist without stopping. "You're coming with me."

His grip was like a vice and she had no choice but to walk or be dragged. She concentrated on re-amplifying her power, but she could not muster up the anger and focus while being dragged along by her wrist. She seethed in frustrated silence, determining to get her power back and attack him as soon as he stopped.

"Stop squirming around," he said without turning his head back to look at her. "Just hold still. I think you'll like where I'm taking you."

This comment did nothing to alleviate her fears; in fact, it served to make her that much more apprehensive and she wondered with dread what exactly Vegeta thought she was going to like. They went back down the stairs, and down a hall she had never been through before. At the end of it was a thick door with a panel on the wall beside it. Vegeta approached the panel, placed his hand on it.

"Identification complete," came a pleasant, but undeniably computer generated, female voice. "Back to train some more, your Highness?" It continued. "You trained for hours earlier this afternoon." The door slid up into the ceiling.

"I'm here for a little sparring," Vegeta said quickly as he moved past the panel and into a large, empty, white walled room. The door slid shut behind them as Vegeta hurled Katsu to the floor.

"So, you want a fight?" He said. "Well, you can fight with me then. I'm a bit curious to see what sort of pathetic abilities you might know, and of course I can't let you get away with hitting me. However, if you're too scared to fight, I might let you go and just throw you into the dungeon for a few years."

Katsu scrambled to her feet, fuming in anger. "I'm not scared of you," she said through gritted teeth. "I attacked you, didn't I? I'll never let you scare me again."

He laughed. "You're so anxious to fight. I think that dress may put you at even more of a disadvantage, don't you? To be sporting, I'm willing to let you change into some appropriate clothes, but if you don't want to, we can get started now."

She growled, knowing that what he said was true. Trying to fight him in a dress was a very bad idea, and she had no idea how her strength would compare to his. She needed every advantage she could get.

"I'll change," she said grudgingly.

"I thought you would make that choice," he said with a grin, going over to the wall and opening a compartment filled with bodysuits like the ones the Saiyans all wore when they were on guard duty, or going to fight. He looked at a few before tossing a black one over his shoulder in her direction. He closed this compartment and went to another, punching a code into the lock on this compartment door. It opened to reveal a blue bodysuit and armor, obviously his. He pulled the bodysuit out and closed the compartment, turning his back to Katsu.

"I've got no interest in watching you change," he said, casually removing his shirt. He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Just make sure you keep your eyes off me."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I don't have any interest in your body, either," she said firmly. 

Vegeta snorted. "Whatever you say."

"What does that mean?" She asked, becoming angry, thankful that he was being his usual self and that it was incensing her as always.

"You lack subtlety," he said. "Now turn around and get changed!"

She breathed hard, angry, but turned around and began to unlace her dress because she had no reply. He must have noticed the way she had looked at him, the times she had admired his chiseled body, and that's why he had said she "lacked subtlety." So maybe he knew that she was attracted to him, but now she was determined to show him that she hated him as well. She was going to fight as hard as she could, and win or lose, she would show him how she really felt about him. She hated him.

She shed her dress and stepped into the bodysuit, pulling the tight fabric over her body, glad to feel that it stretched easily to fit. She pulled her hair out of the collar and turned around to find Vegeta already facing her.

"You were looking!" She said, aghast.

"You change too slowly," he said with a smirk. "I was just making sure you hadn't decided to not fight."

"Not a chance," she said. 

He grinned, walking toward the center of the room. She followed him and stopped when he did, positioning herself the right distance from him to fight, not thinking about how it came naturally to her to stand at just the right distance and assume a ready position. She concentrated, focusing her anger, feeling the now familiar sensation of power flowing through her veins. She breathed hard, staring at Vegeta, feeling her anger build and focusing this into more energy. Strength pumped through her body and her senses were heightened, and she was aware of every sound, the heavy breathing in the room, and every tiny motion, even Vegeta's muscles as they tensed. 

Vegeta came at her a second later and she felt as though she were watching him in slow motion as she moved to block his assault. She threw her own punch, which he blocked as he brought his leg up and around to kick her in the side. She gasped in pain and jumped back, he followed her, but she blocked the punches he threw along the way. She took a farther jump back and succeeded in gaining an opening. Her next punch connected, but it seemed to only barely stun him and his assault continued a second later. All she could was block; his punches came in lightning fast waves. 

She finally had a second and used it to make a hasty retreat, placing distance between herself and Vegeta. He stood where she had left him, poised to continue the fight. She breathed hard, waiting for him to come at her again. She knew what she would do this time.

Several seconds passed as they stared each other down and then Vegeta did as Katsu had thought he would; he charged, coming at her at an alarming rate and she tensed, reading her body. Vegeta was a step in front of her, another step and he would strike, and Katsu ducked low and came forward, bring her fist up and directly into his gut. He doubled over with a grunt of pain and jumped back. She stayed where she was, crouched a bit, her hands up and ready.

He stared at her and this time he did not make a move. Katsu began to grow impatient. _Attack him, attack, make a move,_ she chanted in her mind. She obeyed this instinct and went forward with her own charge, keeping her lower guard up so he could not use the same move she had just done. He was ready for her, though, and blocked all of her punches. His guard was concentrated on her upper body, however, so she stepped back on her right foot and then brought it up to kick him squarely in the chest. Her foot made the impact, but he grabbed her ankle before she could even lower her leg. She gasped as he swung her around, sending her flying across the room and crashing hard against the wall. Pain flared up her back and before she could recover he had dragged her to her feet, holding her around the neck. He apparently thought she was more out of it than she really was, because his guard was down, and she was able to bring her knee up, hard, into his stomach. His face contorted and his grip on her broke. She punched him in the face and he took one step back. 

She came at him, but he was ready and caught her fist as she was throwing her punch. Her eyes widened and he smirked, transferring his grip to her wrist and whirling her around, pushing her and smashing her against the wall. He grabbed her other wrist and twisted her arms around behind her back, pulling them until she cried out in pain. She writhed, struggled to break his grip but he had latched on firmly now and she could not.

"I win," he said simply.

She snarled, but it was true. He had not pinned her on the ground, as was traditionally the way a fight was won, but he had still pinned her. She relaxed her body, abandoning her concentration and returning to her old power level. She rested her forehead against the wall, defeated.

He had not let go of her arms and now he put both of her wrists in one of his hands, gripping them tightly and pulling down, forcing her upper body back, her head falling onto his shoulder. His legs pressed hers firmly against the wall.

"What should I do to you since I'm the victor?" He said, his voice smooth, his tone suggestive. She breathed deeply, afraid of what he might do.

"Nothing to say?" He asked. "That's fine. I've got plenty of ideas of my own…"

One of his hands came around, flat on her stomach and she shuddered. The muscles in her stomach twitched under his palm. He smirked, sliding his hand up until he cupped one of her breasts.

Katsu breathed in sharply, her eyes going wide. She could see that Vegeta was looking down into her eyes, but her gaze was fixed on the ceiling. He removed his hand, taking a step back, turning her around and then pressing his body against hers, pinning her against the wall again.

She stared at him, looking into his eyes now, his eyes that were so close to her own. She was tensed all over and acutely aware of every curve of Vegeta's body against her own. His breath was heavy, hot on her face.

"You're not really that afraid, are you?" He asked, his voice carrying an almost indiscernible touch of concern. "I know you like this." He did not wait for her to affirm this statement, bringing his hands up and sliding his fingers into her collar on either side of her neck, stretching the remarkably elastic material wide, bringing it down past her shoulders. She reached up quickly, gripping his hands and stopping him from pulling the material down any farther. He stared into her eyes for a moment; both of them knew full well that he could overpower her and pull it down anyway. For a moment it seemed that he would, and Katsu gritted her teeth in fear. A second later he released the material, but his hands still slid lower, onto her breasts. He leaned his head closer to hers, but he did not kiss her lips; he leaned past and kissed the hollow below her ear. His lips traveled down her neck, his hands rubbed her softly. When he reached the spot where her neck merged into her shoulder, he stopped, sucking at the tender spot. Her hands pressed hard against the wall, her mind in turmoil. One part of her wanted nothing more than for him to continue, to take her right on the floor of this room. Another part of her mind said that was crazy, that not long ago she was telling herself how much she hated him.

_I hate him,_ she repeated in her mind. _I hate him. I'm not going to let him do this to me._ She did not know, however, if she would be able to stop him. Would he do that? Would he rape her?

"Stop it," she said abruptly. Vegeta froze, but he did not take his lips from her neck.

"What?" He spoke against her neck.

"Stop it," she repeated. "Let me go now. I don't want you touching me anymore."

He did not move for several seconds, but his body tensed against hers, and a moment later his teeth sank into the spot on her neck that he had been paying so much attention to, and she cried out in sudden anger and surprise, fighting to break him off of her. He released her, and she felt the warmth of blood flowing onto her skin.

"You monster!" She shrieked. "Get off me!"

He stepped back, wiping blood from around his mouth, and she clapped a hand to the spot he had bitten, feeling the blood there, her face contorting in anger and pain.

"Why did you do that?!" She asked, fuming as she pulled the bodysuit back up around her neck.

Vegeta looked angry. "I wanted to," he said fiercely. "You think you can just tell me to stop? Your body belongs to me, I can do whatever I want with it. Besides, did you honestly think I was going to fuck you? I would never disgrace myself like that." He turned around, walking away from her.

"Seemed like you were going to do it to me," she called after him. "You were acting like a monkey in rut."

He stopped, his tail bristled. He whirled around and came back at her, forcing her against the wall again.

"Never call me that!" He said through gritted teeth. "Do you hear me? You say that to me again and I'll kill you. Saiyans are proud of our heritage, and just because we have these tails, doesn't mean we're animals. We're people. I'm a man."

"You're a beast," she spat back at him, seeing that she had hit a sensitive spot. 

He snarled, but tore himself away from her, heading for the exit to the room.

"Get changed back into your dress and get out of here," he said as he left. "I don't want to see your face again for at least a week."

The door slid shut behind him and Katsu slid slowly down to sit on the ground. She breathed deeply, sighing. He had stopped when she had told him to. He had also gotten very angry, and then said he had had no intention of actually doing anything with her. She wondered if that was true.

_Would he have done it or not?_ She thought, unsure. _I stopped him, I stopped him because I hate him,_ she told herself. _But did I need to stop him? Would he have gone all the way if I hadn't? _She sighed again, not knowing the answers to these questions and unsure what to make of what had just happened. At the same time what had happened made her angry, she knew that part of her had wanted it to happen. Vegeta aroused her, there was no doubt about that, but he angered her as well, and these two emotions did not know how to mix. She changed slowly back into her dress and left the room, leaving the bodysuit on the floor. Her stomach felt funny and the spot on her neck that Vegeta had bitten hurt; she would need to clean and bandage it without Shiro seeing, because it would be quite obvious that the wound was a bite mark, and Shiro was not stupid; he would know who had done it.

_Shiro._ She felt in sudden need of comfort and contact, someone who could touch her without causing her pain. She went to find Shiro.

**To be continued…*


	8. Ch 8

"Wicked Game" Ch. 8

By Shawna

Katsu ran her hand gently down the finely muscled chest she was pressed against. The skin was smooth beneath her fingers, cool despite the warmth of the night. The hand on her back trailed up and down her spine slowly, relaxing her, making her drowsy. She pulled the blanket up around her chin with her free hand.

"Are you going to fall asleep on me again?" Shiro asked softly, playfully. Katsu was snuggled next to him on his cot, unfazed by the fact that there was barely room for her. She grinned when Shiro spoke.

"If that's okay with you," she whispered, taking her hand off Shiro's bare chest and draping it lazily in the curve of his waist. "Just don't forget to take me to my own cot when you decide to go to sleep, or you know that I'll probably kick you right onto the floor in my sleep."

Shiro laughed softly. "I won't forget."

Katsu had been falling asleep wrapped in Shiro's arms every night for the past nine days, always careful to remind him to take her to her own cot before he went to sleep. It had crossed her mind to wonder what he might do while she slept beside him, but she was a light sleeper and could scarcely be touched without awakening, so she was not very worried. During these nine days Katsu had done as Vegeta had commanded and avoided ever crossing his path. She had also scoped out the castle's defenses and found them far too heavy for any escape attempt that did not have extremely careful planning behind it. She did not abandon her idea, but it would have to go on hold for awhile. In the meantime, she had been expecting Vegeta to begin summoning her as soon as a week had passed, but he had not and she wondered what he was waiting for. 

She had become still, buried in her thoughts, and Shiro apparently thought that she had gone to sleep, because he sighed and brought his hand up to very softly stroke her hair. She wondered what he was thinking about, if anything. A few minutes later he sat up beside her, one of his arms staying around her back and the other slipping under her knees. He lifted her with a slight grunt and some obvious effort, and Katsu found herself feeling self-conscious of her less-than-svelte body. She wondered if it was a natural trait of her race to be more rounded than sleek. She was not what would be called overweight, but the shape of her body was slightly stockier than what she knew to be the conventional idea of feminine beauty. These Saiyan women were much the same though, being almost as muscular as the men. But Katsu was still different from them and for the first time she was wondering how her body compared to those of the women around her.

While she had engrossed herself in these thoughts, Shiro had placed her on her cot and thrown the blanket over her legs, leaving her upper body uncovered on this warm night. When she was sure he had gone back to his own cot she shifted to a more comfortable position and relaxed her body fully. There was a heaviness behind her eyes and it was not long before she had drifted off.

"Vegeta," she was speaking into a heavy mist, through which she could not see more than five or six feet in front of her. She was stepping slowly forward and Vegeta was definitely ahead of her.

"Vegeta," she said again. "Tell me what I am."

Vegeta did not speak, but he raised his hand and pointed off into the mist. She obeyed his guidance without question, heading the way he had indicated. There was another figure in the mist and upon reaching it she found it to be Shiro. He came up to her, his ears perked and forward, his tail bristled behind him.

"I think I know what you are," he said eagerly. "But I'm not sure." He pointed off into the mist, in the same direction she had been going. She obeyed him as well, walking into the mist in the direction Shiro's finger pointed. It seemed she walked forever before seeing a figure up ahead. She got closer to it, closer and closer, and then it suddenly turned, running at her. She gasped, taking a step back, and managed only a glimpse of the figure: purple hair, amber eyes with elliptical pupils, and long claws reaching toward her face.

A second later Katsu was awake on her cot, skin clammy with sweat and chest tight. She stared into the darkness of the servants' sleeping quarters for some time, assuring herself that she was okay now, relaxing her tensed muscles. At some point she had drawn the blanket up all the way to her chin and now she pushed it back down around her waist, glad for the feel of air moving over her heated upper body. She had not had any dreams since she had been on this planet, and of course she could not remember any dreams she might have had before arriving her. Memories trickled back to her every once and while now but they were for the most part trivial, small parts of her life. She still had not remembered the name of her planet or species and what had happened that had sent her into space in an escape pod. She wondered if she had had nightmares about demons before, when she was back on her home planet. The thing she had seen seemed vaguely familiar, like she had seen it and feared it before; but what was it? This she could not remember. She kept seeing those eyes, large, fully amber, slit with black pupils. What could it be? She wondered at this until her mind fogged over and she fell back to sleep. This time she slept peacefully, undisturbed by nightmares.

"You've got to come with me today," Shiro said the next morning, exasperated. "He said he didn't want to see you for one week. But now its been, what, ten days?"

"Nine," Katsu said, finishing lacing up her dress. "Today would be ten."

Shiro made a face. "Whatever," he said. "But you're coming with me today." He handed Katsu a polishing cloth for the sconces. She took it daintily.

"I never said I wasn't going to go today," she said softly, making for the stairs ahead of Shiro. She heard him sigh and then he followed her quickly.

Katsu was quiet as they went through their usual duties on the third floor of the castle. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Shiro glancing at her repeatedly and seeming as if he was about to speak, and then suddenly changing his mind. She wondered what he was thinking about.

She was almost done polishing all the sconces when the door to Vegeta's room opened slowly. She glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes met Vegeta's. He stood in the doorway to his room, shirtless, staring at her. She looked for a few seconds and then turned back to what she was doing. She heard him come out of his room, closing the door, approaching her. She tensed as he neared. He breezed by easily, smacking her on the backside as he did so. Her eyes went wide and she almost gasped audibly, whirling around to face him. He did not look back as he walked the length of the hall and exited by the main staircase. 

She stared down the hall for a while, wondering why he had done that and what it might have meant. Shiro was eyeing her quizzically; he had not seen what Vegeta had done. She shrugged at Shiro and went back to finishing the sconce. 

That night Vegeta did what Katsu had been expecting for three days now - he rang her on her wristcuff to bring him his dinner. She stared at the small flashing light, wondering what Vegeta might do when he saw her again. One part of her mind imagined him getting angry, hitting her, with that quiet rage burning in his eyes. The other part saw him acting as he had immediately after their fight, pinning her against the wall in his room and taking her violently. She blushed, embarrassed at the image that suddenly dominated her thoughts, but letting it stay in her mind.

"Hey, are you going to go?" Shiro poked Katsu in the ribs, having come over after he heard her wristcuff sound. "I knew he'd start calling you soon. You'd better go so you don't piss him off again."

"Yeah," she muttered, her blush deepening, as if Shiro would know what she had been thinking about. She went through the kitchen and scooped up the silver platter that she knew from experience was Vegeta's. She whisked up the stairs, feeling a strange lightness in her stomach, a result of her mixed apprehension and anticipation about how Vegeta was going to act when she arrived at his room. 

She went through the customary actions: knocking, receiving silence, and entering. The window was open, as it so often was, and Vegeta was seated in the usual chair in front of it. He was resting his chin on his knuckles and his eyes were closed. She approached quietly, placing the tray silently on the small table beside the chair. She clasped her hands and stood beside Vegeta, waiting to be dismissed, her chest still tight with nervousness.

"Sit down," Vegeta said suddenly, pointing to the ground in front of his chair. Katsu obeyed with surprising alacrity, seating herself where he indicated.

His eyes opened, shining in the moonlight as he looked down at her. She did not drop her gaze or look away; she stared right back at him. For some time he did not speak, and then he reached down and gripped her chin gently, raising her head.

"You aren't a bad fighter, for a non-Saiyan female," he said. Katsu blinked, a look of mild surprise crossing her face. Of all the ways she had thought he would act, this had not been one of them.

"Don't seem so shocked," he said, releasing her and putting his hand back on the chair's armrest. "I recognize fighting talent where fighting talent exists. Tell me what you are."

"Wh-what I am?" 

He snorted. "You're not deaf, are you? Tell me what species you are, what planet you come from."

Katsu looked down. "I... I don't remember."

He huffed impatiently. "What do you mean, you don't remember?"

She grew a bit irritated. "I mean, I do not remember. I woke up in the escape pod I crashed here in with no memory of where I came from or how I got there. All I could remember was my name is Katsu. I've had some memories return since then, but nothing major. Not the name of my planet or species."

Vegeta was silent for some time upon hearing this, and Katsu did not look up to see his face at all during this time. She wondered if he would believe her, and what she would do if he did not. Would he get angry with her? Would he strike her again for lying to him?

"That must be difficult. Not knowing who you are or where you come from."

Katsu looked up, even more surprised to hear words that were almost compassionate coming from the prince. "Yes," she said softly. "Yes, its very difficult. I... Sometimes I don't know how to deal with it."

"I know how it is to feel helpless, to feel like there is nothing you can do," Vegeta replied, not making eye contact with her anymore. "I know how it feels to be unable to deal with a problem when you should be able to." His fist clenched tight as he said this and frustration burned in his eyes.

Katsu's compulsion took over and she placed her hand gently on his knee. His eyes widened and he stared at her, apparently startled that she was touching him tenderly. She smiled faintly at him. 

"So, we're not all that different," she said. "Only... Only you're the cause of my suffering. I don't know the cause of yours."

Katsu expected Vegeta to get angry when said this, and though his fists stayed tightly clenched, his face softened ever so slightly.

"You're actually lucky, then," he said, the sadness in his voice thinly veiled despite his obvious effort. "You have the opportunity to fight back against what causes you pain and the ability to hurt it, albeit not very much."

"But I can't get away from it."

"Neither can I."

"You can't get away from yourself? Or from what hurts you?"

"Both."

Katsu placed her other hand on Vegeta's other knee, looked up at him earnestly. "You're so powerful, I know that," she said, a smile touching the corners of her lips because she knew all too well how strong he was. "I can't imagine something or someone that could control you like this."

He pounded his fist on the arm of the chair, startling Katsu, causing her to draw back from him. "No one can control me," he said through gritted teeth, his head down. "I won't let him control me."

"But you do," Katsu blurted without thinking. Vegeta's head snapped up to stare at her, his eyes burning. She recoiled against the wall beside the window, very much afraid at the look that had come into his eyes. He rose in a rapid, fluid motion and stood over her before she could move away. 

"How dare you say that I let him control me," he said, voice wavering, his whole body quivering with rage. "I don't have a choice. If I could stop him I would. I would do it in a heartbeat."

Katsu turned her face away from him. "Then do it."

His hand shot out, wrapping in her hair, and he dragged her to her feet, pressing her hard against the wall. "You know nothing of this situation," he breathed harshly against her face. "You know nothing about me. You're just a servant."

"You confided in me," she whispered. "I thought I knew you... You confided in me." She closed her eyes, feeling tears slipping out from them as she did so. The hand in her hair loosened and then she was shoved to the side. She turned to see Vegeta pressing his forehead against the wall, his hands over his face. His breath came heavy.

Katsu turned to leave, her instinctive reaction being to flee. Vegeta's hand caught her wrist and whirled her around. 

"Don't go yet," he said.

She wrenched out of his grasp. "Please don't touch me," she said, taking a step back from him.

Vegeta took a step forward, driving Katsu back another step. "You're trying to tell me what to do again," he said, but without his usual cockiness. He took another step; so did Katsu.

"Just let me leave now," she said desperately, afraid. "Please don't do anything to me. I'm sorry for what I said, you're right, I don't know anything about you. Just let me leave."

Vegeta seemed almost taken aback by her words. "Suddenly you're cowering before me? Suddenly you're begging for my mercy? I thought you were above that."

"I was," she said, going back another step as he came forward. "But I'm tired now, I'm scared, I'm sick of pain. I just want you to leave me alone now."

The backs of her legs hit the bed after her next step and she could retreat no further. Vegeta stopped a few steps away from her, though, seeming hesitant to touch her now.

"You want me to leave you alone? You want to be like all the other servants skulking around this castle?"

She turned her head away from him, wanting to give one of her usual defiant answers but feeling too weak to deal with the consequences she would undoubtedly face. However, she could not, would not, agree to wanting to be a faithful servant to him.

"No," she whispered faintly.

He came forward now. "I didn't think so," he said, standing close to her, almost close enough for their bodies to touch. Katsu bent backwards, pulling her face away from him. He grinned without humor, the expression seeming more sad than anything else. His foot hooked around her ankle and tripped her, sending her falling backwards onto the bed. She gasped, fear clouding her mind, thinking he was going to rape her.

He placed his hands on her thighs, spreading her legs, but just so he could stand between her knees, which hung over the edge of the bed. 

"I wouldn't say I confided in you, Katsu," he said. "But I did tell you things I would never have considered telling a servant before. You're different from all the others, because you're undefeated. Your dignity and spirit are still intact. I still can't decide if I should break you or not."

She stared up at him and everything seemed to go into slow motion. He was leaning over her slightly, one of his arms slipping under back and lifting her upper body. His other hand went to the back of her head, raising it. His chest pressed against hers; his warm breath fanned across her lips. He leaned his head in close to her, so close that all she could see was the darkness of his eyes. He tilted his head slightly to one side, then to the other. His breath was warm on her face again. He brushed his lips across hers, sending a pleasant tingle through her body. Her fear had melted away, she had forgotten that she had ever been afraid, about all the other things that had happened and about how she hated the prince. There was only that moment, where he was warm against her, soft and hard at the same time. His lips brushed hers again, and then he did what she had been waiting for, and it seemed like she had been waiting forever. He kissed her, pressing his lips to hers first gently and then with more force and she wrapped her arms around him despite herself. His tongue traced the line between her closed lips and she opened to him willingly, thrilling in the way he kissed her, reveling in the burst of pent up passion that came from both of them. She melted into the kiss, responding, kissing him back, clinging to him as though her life depended on it. Her hands gripped his back, memorizing the feel, the curves of the hard muscles. The muscles of his thighs were tensed between her knees, and she brought her legs closer together, wrapping her lower legs around his calves, wanting to be in as much contact with him as was physically possible. All of her senses exalted in him: the way he smelled, felt, and tasted, all heightened her experience and she felt as though she could kiss him forever. Vegeta seemed no less excited than she; his arm around her back clung to her tightly, possessively, his kiss was on fire. 

To her own surprise, it was Katsu who broke away first. Even she was not sure why she did it, but there was suddenly something in her that did not want Vegeta in this way, did not want him to be kissing her, taking pleasure in her body, seducing her. She could not let him take her this way.

His eyes questioned her actions. "I'm sorry," she said falteringly. "But I can't... I just don't want..."

He released her and she fell back onto the bed. He stood up straight, staring down at her, and she knew he would become angry; indeed, anger already crept in his eyes. She braced for him to hit her, but he did not, he merely stared down at her.

"Fine," he said, to Katsu's great surprise. "Fine. If you don't want this, you can go. I won't force you, despite what I know you like to think. I don't have to force you. The day will come when you'll be begging me to do it."

She sat up fast. "Never," she said indignantly. "I'll never beg you to take pleasure in my body. I'd rather cut my throat."

He laughed, his good mood obviously returned after his pre-kiss melancholy. "Fine," he said again, turning away. "Whatever you say. You can go now."

She vaulted off the bed, her face hot with anger. He had turned her rejection of him around as if he had planned the whole thing out, and this was enough to make her blood boil. She stalked from the room, biting her tongue to keep from saying anything more. Her defiance had returned along with Vegeta's usual attitude, and they would inevitably clash again. 

_Still,_ she could not help but think on her way down the stairs. _That was one hell of a kiss._

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Ch 9

"Wicked Game" Ch. 9

By Shawna

"Katsu, are you okay?"

Shiro startled Katsu out of her reverie and she turned to face him, looking dazed.

"You've been sitting there staring into space for over an hour. What are you thinking about?"

Katsu rubbed at her heavy eyes. It had been a full day since Vegeta had kissed her, and her stomach still felt like it was full of fluttering butterflies. At the same time, her sleep had been tormented with hazy nightmares of the purple haired demon whom she could still remember nothing about. Between all of this, she had been formulating her escape plan, carefully, meticulously.

"I'm fine," she said softly, yawning and rubbing at her eyes again. Shiro eyed her incredulously.

"It's barely even afternoon; why are you so tired? Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

Katsu did not look at him. She shook her head. "I've... I've been having nightmares."

Shiro sat down quickly on Katsu's cot, putting his arm around her. He stroked her hair with his other hand as he spoke.

"About what? Your home planet? The prince?"

"I don't know... Something that I can't remember..."

Shiro said nothing to this, but he continued to stroke her hair and whisper comfortingly.

"And I've been thinking," Katsu said suddenly, feeling emboldened. "I've been thinking of a way to get off this planet."

Shiro drew back with a sigh. "Not that again, Katsu, please. I thought you'd gotten over that. There is no way off this rock. Please stop obsessing over it. You're only hurting yourself."

Katsu glared at him. "I'm not obsessing over it," she said angrily. "I've thought of a real plan to escape."

He regarded her coolly with his violet eyes. She stared right back at him, chin up, eyes flashing pride. "Well," he said at length. "Let's hear it then."

Katsu looked away. "I have to test it a little bit first, and find the necessary materials... I'll tell you when I've got it all worked out."

Shiro shook his head. "I thought you already had it all worked out," he said irritably. "Katsu, you really are something else." His tone changed as he said this last part, becoming softer. He turned his eyes on her fondly. "But that's probably why I love being with you so much."

Katsu stared at him, surprised at this sudden confession of emotion. She licked her lips nervously, thinking about Vegeta and trying to muster the same passion for Shiro as she had felt when kissing the prince. It almost came, but not quite. Not quite as much, but enough to make her act.

"Come with me, Shiro," Katsu said abruptly, gripping his collar and pulling him close to her. "Come with me. We can start a new life together on my planet, or if its not there anymore, some other planet. Any planet. Anywhere away from these damn Saiyans. Some place where we can live our own lives."

Shiro's eyes had gone wide and he looked utterly shocked. "C-come with you?" He stammered. "Leave planet Vegeta? A new life..." Katsu nodded eagerly, anxious for him to agree. "I don't know," he said uncertainly.

"What do you have to lose? Your bondage? We could be free, Shiro, free to do whatever we want, whenever we want. No more restrictions, no more being surrounded by other people all the time... We could be alone sometimes." Her tone was silky and suggestive as she said this, but the words felt thick and phony in her mouth. She wanted him to come with her, badly, because she did not want to go alone. It troubled her to no end that her planet might be gone or her people all dead and she did not think she could handle that on her own. She cared about Shiro; she truly did, and she did want him to be free, but mostly she just did not want to be alone.

"Katsu," Shiro said very seriously, taking her hands off his collar and clutching them in his lap. "I do like you, a lot, and I would love to spend my life with you, but... This planet has become my home. I grew up here. I don't know if I could leave. I want to, but... It would just be really hard for me. I want to stay with you, but..."

Katsu took her hands out of Shiro's, placing them on either side of his face. "Shiro," she said softly, earnestly, leaning in close to him. "This is not your home. You were brought her by force, through violence. We can make a real home together. We could be happy."

"Katsu..." His large eyes shone as he stared back at her. "Why do you want me to go with you so badly? Do you... How do you really feel about me Katsu?"

Katsu was taken aback by this question and drew away from him, turning her face away. "I-I'm not sure," she said softly, honestly. 

He turned her around to look at him, clutching her shoulders. "I want you, Katsu. I want to stay with you."

She grinned softly but drew away from him gently, pushing his hands down. "Then it's settled," she said. "As soon as everything is in order, you'll come with me." Shiro's expression was unreadable.

It was late afternoon when Katsu's wrist cuff sounded and she gazed at it curiously, wondering what Vegeta could want at this time of the day. She went quickly to his room, her stomach feeling full of butterflies as she wondered what side of Vegeta's personality would be showing this afternoon. She wondered if he would kiss her again...

When she arrived at his room she found him clad in the blue bodysuit he wore for fighting, and she gazed at him questioningly. He smirked.

"I want to fight you again," he said casually, walking by her and grabbing her arm, dragging her out of the room.

"Hey! Why?" She tried to free her arm from his grip.

"Just for fun," he said, releasing her. "I need to do some sparring with someone who isn't a Saiyan for a change."

Katsu had not been expecting this, but what had happened after their last fight flashed through her mind. Was that his real intention? Was he going to put her in a similar situation and try to get her to give in this time? She sneered, irritated at the prince's arrogance. Let him try anything with her again. She would show him. She might even beat him in the fight.

The two went through the same routine as last time in the training room: Katsu pressing herself into a corner to change as Vegeta waited impatiently. They took up their positions across from each other, Katsu becoming annoyed with her lack of anger. Her power level was barely higher than normal and she would be pummeled if she did not shape up fast. Vegeta had already taken up an attack stance and looked ready to pounce on her at any second. Nervousness ran through her. Should she try to stall? There was no way he would listen to her...

He came at her fast and she was totally unprepared, taking a hard hit in the face and nearly going down. She staggered and recaught her balance, bouncing back lightly on the balls of her feet. Vegeta's face had taken up its usual cocky smirk and this made her angry, and she felt her strength increase a little bit. Not enough, though, not nearly enough. He needed to do something absolutely intolerable that would set her off and give her the power to match him and maybe even beat him. He just was not doing it right now; he always made her angry, but right now he just was not doing it enough.

He came at her again and she was able to block a few of his punches before he found a break in her slower than usual movements and struck her in the face again. Blood spurted from her nose, across his chest, and she fell away from him weakly, trying to put distance between them before he could hit her again. He did not follow her this time.

"What's wrong with you today?" He asked.

She shook her head slowly, feeling pain throb in her skull. She wiped the blood from her nose away with her sleeve and tried to concentrate. She was angry now, definitely, but the pain pulsing through her body muddled her thoughts and she could not seem to focus her anger into anything useable.

Vegeta charged again, from the side this time, driving her back towards the middle of the room. Again, she was able to block only a few of his punches before he found another opening and punched her in the mouth. Her lip split, and the force of the strike sent blood spraying out in a fan, across Vegeta's face. He reared back for a second, wiping it away from his eyes, and then came at her again, scoring another punch that sent out another fan of blood. She fell back, almost collapsing to the ground, catching her balance only to receive a knee in her stomach that knocked the wind out of her and doubled her over in pain. A second later Vegeta's elbow came down hard on her upper back and sent her straight to the floor, face first. She cried out in pain and lay were she had fallen, unable to rise.

"Why are you fighting so horribly today? I can't even call this fighting. You were much better before."

Katsu moaned incoherently. Vegeta slowly removed his blood stained white glove and tossed it into a corner of the room. She moaned again, softer this time, but still full of pain. She had not been expecting him to beat her this badly, especially after he had seen that she was not up to her past fighting prowess. Why was he doing this? She tried to rise up on her hands only to collapse again.

Vegeta straddled her and then knelt, pressing one of his knees into the small of her back. "Obviously you need more motivation. I noticed that you're a bit like a Saiyan in that you're more powerful when you're angry. Saiyans are always powerful, though, while you seem nearly incapable of fighting when you're not pissed off." His knee pressed harder into her back. "I guess you need a little more foreplay to get you wet, hm?"

She snarled at his innuendo. He slid one of his hands into her hair and jerked it up, raising her head and upper body off of the floor. His other hand came around her neck, but there was something in it, something cold. He snapped it around her neck and there was a soft clicking as it fused in the back. She brought one of her hands up to run along the smooth metal band now encircling her neck. A collar.

She writhed under Vegeta's knee. "You bastard!" She screamed, flailing around. "You take this off of me! Now!"

He laughed scornfully. "You know perfectly well you can't tell me what to do." He removed his knee and stood, taking a few steps back from her as she popped to her feet, her energy returned by her sudden but very complete rage. The flow of blood from her wounds had staunched and she was ready to fight again. Her hands went first to the collar, her fingers slipping inside it as she pulled, fighting to break it off.

"Don't bother," Vegeta said with a wave of his hand. "Even I wouldn't be able to bust that thing off. The only way to do it is with this key." He held up a small cylindrical object that shone under the lights. She stared at it and then lunged, trying to grab it from his hands, but he seemed to have expected this and stepped out of the way. She attacked again, snarling, reaching out with her hands to swipe at him with her fingernails without even realizing what she was doing. He was laughing, dodging her attacks easily. She finally saw this and stopped, panting, trying to focus her newfound anger into energy to formulate a good attack.

"Why do I have to wear this?" She said through gritted teeth. "None of the other slaves do."

"Servants," he corrected her. "And you have to wear it because I think it looks cute on you."

She slashed at him again with her fingernails, his quick evasive action being not quite fast enough. Her fingernails passed through a bit of his hair and the black strands floated slowly to the ground.

"Damn, woman, those things are sharp," Vegeta said with some surprise, seeing the hairs on the ground. Katsu snarled at him.

"Don't lie to me," she said angrily. "Why do I really have to wear this?"

"Because the other servants' spirits have been broken. Your spirit has not. You have to wear that because you were thinking of attempting an escape."

She gaped at him. How could he possibly know that she had planned an escape? Only Shiro knew of her plan. Had Shiro betrayed her? 

"I've seen it in your eyes," Vegeta said. "You've longed to escape. Did you think I wouldn't notice the way you were sizing up every bit of the castle? I'm not stupid, you know."

Katsu took a step back, shocked that he had noticed everything that she had done, wondering if he had been watching her when she could not see him. What was going on?

Vegeta laughed. "I find things out quite easily."

Katsu breathed hard through her nose. "How?" She demanded. "How did you know that?"

He did not answer her, but instead turned to the side and got into an attack position. "Fight me and maybe I'll tell you."

She had focused herself by now; she was more ready to fight him. She did not hesitate, throwing herself at him, her hands forward, fingers arched. It was not until she was nearly on him that she realized what she was doing. She clenched her fingers into fists and began throwing punches.

They fought for nearly a half hour, Katsu's heightened agility canceling out Vegeta's superior strength and making them nearly equally matched. It did not seem that either of them would be able to gain the upper hand, but Vegeta was cocky as always and he made a small mistake. He threw a punch with too much force behind it, expecting it to connect, but Katsu was able to dodge at the last second and he pitched forward, thrown off balance. She saw this instantly and locked her foot around his ankle, sweeping his foot out from under him and causing him to go down hard on his back. She instantly straddled him, remembering what he had done to her, and knelt, driving her knee into his stomach. She supported herself on her right hand as she placed her left elbow on his throat. His eyes widened, but he did not try to move. They stared at each other in silence; their heavy breathing the only sound in the room.

"I could kill you right now," Katsu said quietly, her voice still sounding too loud as it broke the silence. She raised her elbow a bit, brought it slowly down back to his skin. "That's all I'd have to do to crush your windpipe and kill you."

"You won't," Vegeta said, his voice utterly calm and confident. Katsu narrowed her eyes.

"Why shouldn't I? All I have to do is bring this elbow down..."

"And all I have to do is bring my wrist down."

Katsu started when he said this and glanced at his arm, stretched out above his head. His palm was up and the small panel that he wore around his wrist and used to call on his guards and servants was down against the floor. If he pressed down, the buttons on the panel would be pushed, summoning the guards, Shiro, and even herself. 

"You'd be dead before they got here," she snarled.

He smirked. "And you'd be dead as soon as they did."

"I'm not afraid to die."

"Neither am I."

"Then there's nothing to stop me from doing it."

"No. It's your call."

Katsu stared down into Vegeta's dark eyes, searching for any trace of fear in them. There was none. He seemed both doubtful that she would actually do it and fully prepared to accept it if she should. She stared at him for a long time, mulling over her options.

"There's no reason for me to die now," she said. "I'm going to be escaping soon anyway."

"Not with that collar," he said with a smirk.

"What does it do?"

"Don't leave the castle grounds and you won't find out."

She snarled at him, her anger, which had just begun to subside, surfacing again. 

"Temper, temper," he said. "Calm down, pussy cat. Why don't we continue our little duel and you can expend some of that energy?"

She scoffed. "Our fight is over. You're pinned, I've won."

He looked away. "So you have," he said. "And what are you going to do now? Besides killing me, that is, since you've already shown that you don't want to do that."

"Don't tempt me."

"I don't need to."

She drove her elbow a bit into his skin and he coughed, his tail beginning to thrash wildly beside him. Katsu looked at it and without thinking reached out and gripped it hard. Vegeta bucked under her, gasping in pain. She stared at him, startled, loosening her grip on his tail. His body eased.

"Your tail..." She mused. "Your tail is your weak point." Her eyes widened.

He snarled. "Yes, it is. You actually figured something out. Now get the hell off me."

She brought the tip of his tail to her mouth and bit it, not too hard, but with enough force to cause him to cry out in pained anger. "You better watch what you say to me," she said with a smirk, holding his tail threateningly close to her mouth.

Vegeta glared up at her with anger and a touch of fear in his eyes. This exhilarated her; for once she had the power. She could cause him any amount of pain through his tail. She was in control now and was acutely aware of this position. A slight grin came over her face as she slid a hand down the firm muscles of Vegeta's stomach and then took her knee and brought it slowly down onto the floor, stretching it and her other knee out a bit so she could lower herself onto him. She then ran her hand up his arm, flipping over his hand where he had the call link and then pressing his wrist against the floor so he could not activate it. She leaned down, nuzzling his neck, hearing him gasp lightly when she bit gently at his earlobe.

"How does it feel?" She breathed into his ear. "Now that I'm the one in control?"

"I'm not exactly as helpless as you were all those times," he said. 

"You are as long as I have this," she whispered, squeezing his tail lightly as she rubbed herself slowly against him and nibbled at his neck. "And I can do to you exactly what you did to me." She raised her head, kissed him softly on the lips and then hefted herself to her feet, striding easily away from him and towards her dress, which lay rumpled in the corner. Vegeta sat up quickly.

"Hey," he called after her. "Where are you going? You can't just leave now."

She laughed. "Oh really? I've got to take out the dinner soon. I can't be late feeding the other people who live in this castle just because you're a little bit... hard." She snickered after this last word and Vegeta seemed embarrassed.

"I can make you stay," he said angrily.

"I thought you didn't need to do that," she said daintily, changing into her dress seemingly without regard for whether he saw her or not. She was careful to keep her back to him, though, and change so quickly that he would not have had time to see much.

This seemed to have taken him aback. "I don't," he said with increasing anger.

"Then I'm leaving." She made for the door, casting only one quick glance over her shoulder. Vegeta was sitting in the middle of the training room, his face a mixture of anger and shock. She shut the door behind her without a word.

**To Be Continued...**


	10. Ch 10

"Wicked Game" Ch. 10

By Shawna

The look on Katsu's face the next time she encountered Shiro told him a lot. 

"You think I told Vegeta of your escape plan," he said softly.

Katsu glared at him. "How else can you explain this?" She tugged angrily at the metal collar around her neck.

"A servant must have overheard you talking about escaping and gone and told him," Shiro said, as if this was the most logical explanation and had been inevitable from the beginning. "You know that you're not exactly popular around here."

"I'm no less popular than anyone else!" She said through gritted teeth, her voice raised despite her efforts to keep it down. "None of the other servants would have had an opportunity to tell him. Only you would have Shiro."

Shiro held up his hands defensively. "Whoa, that's not true. One of the other servants could have told a guard or something and if they had information like this they might have gone out of their way to let Vegeta know. Please don't get angry at me Katsu, that's not fair of you."

"Look at this collar!" She screamed. "You see it?! It's a collar! I'm collared like an animal because that bastard knows that I was planning something and only one other person knew of my plan and that was you! This thing is annoying as hell! And not only that but there's probably a fucking bomb in it or something! He told me not to leave the castle grounds with it on because something horrible will happen if I do! I think I have every right to be angry!" She tugged at the collar again, furious. 

Her voice echoed down the empty second floor hall. Shiro looked around nervously, obviously worried that someone would hear them. Being caught was the last thing on Katsu's mind. Right now all she could see was red; all she could feel was anger. She did not want to believe that Shiro had betrayed her to Vegeta, she wanted to listen to him when he denied it, but all signs pointed towards him being the one who had told and she had to know why. There was no logical reason for him to tell on her; why had he?

"Katsu, please calm down," Shiro said desperately. "You shouldn't get in such a state."

Katsu clenched her fists angrily. "You try staying calm with this thing around your neck!"

A brief flash of anger went through Shiro's violet eyes. "Maybe you were just too obvious with your plan. Maybe Vegeta figured it out just from watching you."

Katsu stared at him. Neither of them moved.

She lunged a second later, fingers outspread and arched, and slashed him across the cheek, seeing the four red lines that sprung up and immediately began to ooze blood. She bounced back on her feet and he snarled, flattening back his ears and baring his teeth, including his two sharp canine fangs. His animalistic fight reaction had kicked in now and he arched his back and came at her fast, sending them both to the ground, tumbling over each other. Shiro ended up on top of her, his hands pinning her shoulders to the ground, his legs twisted with hers. She stared up at him, her breath hard and fast. Shiro's tongue was hanging out of his mouth a bit and he was panting. His tail stood straight out behind him, bristled. Katsu dug her nails into his chest and a yelp escaped his mouth, but he did not move. They stared at each other.

The fog of anger began to clear from Katsu's mind, and Shiro's fight instinct seemed to be reining in. His tail began to relax, the fur settling. Katsu shifted under him. His eyes widened and his tail came back up, not bristled this time however, and curled over his back.

"Well," he said huskily, looking up and glancing over his shoulder. "No one's around."

Katsu was not entirely over her anger yet, but she instantly took Shiro's meaning. Before she could react he leaned down, and licked her across the lips. She squirmed under him but the heat that had begun with anger turned suddenly to passion and she gripped his shirt and pulled him down, kissing him hard. He drew away with a smirk, his ear perked and forward now. He slid one of his fingers under the lacings of her dress and pulled them loose. Katsu closed her eyes as the material parted and Shiro's fingers began tracing light patterns over her newly revealed skin. She reveled in the sensations, but her mind turned suddenly to the time Vegeta had kissed her. She remembered the way her body had felt then, aflame, eager. She arched her back as a warm mouth came down on her collarbone. The kiss between her and Vegeta played over and over in her mind, alighting her senses. She imagined the way it would look if she were in Vegeta's bed now, with _his_ mouth on her neck. The word slipped out of her mouth just loud enough to be heard, without her even realizing it.

"Vegeta..."

Shiro froze and Katsu's eyes flew open. Shiro raised his head, taking her face in his hands, his eyes intent on her face.

"What did you say?" He demanded.

Katsu shook her head, trying to draw back from him. "I-I don't know," she stammered. "It just came out, I wasn't thinking about him but in the back of my mind... I'm just still angry at him about this whole thing. Shiro, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about him that way, I've just been so stressed..." She blinked rapidly several times, bringing forth tears and making them spill over. Shiro's face softened and he drew her towards him and hugged her.

"It's okay, Katsu, I understand," he said, though Katsu was not sure if he believed her or not. She wrapped her arms tight around his back and faked more sobs.

Presently she drew away from him, her hands going for the laces of her dress and redoing them. Shiro raised himself to his feet and then helped Katsu to hers. Katsu bit her lip and avoided looking into his eyes. She was embarrassed about what had just happened; embarrassed that she had been thinking of Vegeta in that way as well as that she had been with Shiro on the floor of a public hallway. She hurried back into the stairwell and went down the stairs two at a time, leaving Shiro far in her wake.

It was the next evening before Katsu saw Vegeta again. She had to take him his dinner and she chafed at the thought of seeing his smug face. She took a deep breath before entering his bedroom, hoping that this would be quick and easy and he would not say anything extra to her. When she got inside, she hurried across the floor, placing the tray on the usual table and standing with her head down, hoping to be dismissed.

"You shouldn't fight with that dog," Vegeta said to her. "You could catch a disease or something."

Katsu looked up at him, seated, shirtless, in his usual chair. "Beg your pardon?" She asked innocently.

"Those scratches on his face," Vegeta said. "I'm sure it was you who did those. I don't want you fighting with him."

Katsu looked down, angry. How dare Vegeta call Shiro a "dog." She clenched her fists. "It won't happen again, your Highness," she said through gritted teeth.

"Good," he said with a smirk. "Now come here."

Katsu took a deep breath and approached him. There went her quick exit.

He gripped her wrists and looked up into her eyes. She stared down at him, keeping her face neutral, acting as though she did not care what he did. He moved his hands to her waist, turned her around, and forced her down onto his lap. She gasped, and struggled against him briefly, but his arms were tight around her waist.

He nuzzled the back of her neck and then put his chin on her shoulder. "You haven't done anything with him since that one time I caught you both, have you? I certainly hope you've developed enough sense to not soil yourself by letting a dog touch you."

She had the urge to tell him that Shiro was more of a man that he would ever be, and that yes, she had done things with Shiro and she enjoyed being with him. She bit back this urge, figuring it would only lead to punishment for both her and Shiro. It would not be fair of her to get him in trouble.

"I haven't done anything with him," she said, making her voice said indignant, as though she were insulted by the mere thought.

"Good," Vegeta said, moving his lips to her ear and toying with her earlobe. She tensed as his tail came around in front of her and slipped under the hem of her dress. She arched her back and struggled against Vegeta's hold on her as his tail began to push her dress up.

"Stop it," she said angrily. He laughed and his tail pushed the hem of her dress up past her thighs and finally around her waist.

"If you haven't done anything with that dog, then it's been awhile for you, hasn't it?" He whispered into her ear. "You can't even remember the last time you got any." He traced one of his hands along her inner thigh, and then pressed his fingers between her legs, rubbing against her panties. Her hips bucked and she gasped, arching her back again, her hands gripping the armrests of the chair. One of his fingers moved against her most sensitive spot and she moaned.

"Stop," she said again, but the word was mostly breath and there was very little conviction behind it. Vegeta ignored her and she did not care. 

Moans issued from her throat and her breath began to come short. She did not want to give Vegeta the pleasure of seeing her reach the height of her own pleasure, but she could not control the reaction of her body to his touch. She felt as though every part of her was on fire and she wanted him to continue, she wanted him to push her over the edge. Let him take his pleasure so long as she got hers.

Abruptly, though, he stopped, taking his hand away and returning it to her waist. She moaned in disappointment.

"Look at what a whore you are, going wet at my touch. Yesterday you wanted to kill me." With these words he lifted Katsu to her feet and pushed her away from him. She fell forward a few steps, fighting to regain her balance and her logical thought. She stood still for a few seconds, panting, anger bubbling up inside her. She whirled on Vegeta.

"How dare you call me a whore," she said, quivering with rage. "You force yourself on me and then you act as if its all my doing. You just don't want to own up to the fact that you crave me. You can't keep your fucking hands off me!"

Vegeta's eyes went wide and he stared at her. Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Katsu saw that her words had struck home. Anger flashed through Vegeta's eyes.

"You'd like that to be true, wouldn't you?" He said harshly. "You'd like to think you were just so irresistible. You're not. You're just entertaining to toy with. Now get out."

Now it was Vegeta's word that struck. A wave of pain came over Katsu and her face contorted as she fought back the tears that suddenly sprung to the surface. She turned on her heel and fled the room, not wanting to see his face anymore, not wanting to think of what he had said and whether or not he was speaking the truth or she had been. All she knew was that his words had hurt her. Deeply.

She burst into the servants' quarters in tears and flung herself on her cot. She did not sob hysterically or make any noise at all, but tears poured down her face nonetheless. For some time, everyone left her alone, but presently Shiro approached her and placed a hand lightly on her back. She fought a sudden unexplainable urge to shy away from his touch and instead let him rub her back gently. He did not speak and Katsu was glad for that. She did not feel like talking, but her mind was racing. She had to get out of here, tonight. Vegeta was toying with her, Shiro was content to be a slave, the other servants hated her. She had to get out of here and damn the consequences she might face trying. If the collar around her neck blew up, so be it. She would rather be dead than living this way. Shiro could stay if this was the life he wanted.

She turned over then, looking up into Shiro's eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and drew him down, hugging him with warmth but without intimacy. He seemed almost confused by her sudden attitude but hugged her regardless.

"Are you okay?" He asked at length. Katsu nodded.

"I'm alright now," she said softly, having come to peace with her decision to put her escape plan into action tonight. She hugged Shiro one last time and then pushed him gently away. "But I'm tired now. I think I'm going to go to sleep early tonight. Wake me up if my wrist cuff goes off."

Shiro nodded, looking concerned but not saying anything. He moved off when she shut her eyes and turned over.

Katsu slept lightly, tossing and turning. She roused herself in the middle of the night, determined to not back down from her decision. She lay listening to the other servants for a few minutes, making sure they were all asleep, and then she rose quietly. She reached under her bed, gripping the laser knife she had stolen off of the guard she had fought, as well as a small vial of a substance used to melt impurities off of the Saiyans' armor. She had acquired it from the cleaning room, after finding out that the stuff was so corrosive it could weaken metal. She then moved across the room, painstakingly slow, being careful to make no noise. She opened the door to the laundry room slowly, gritting her teeth when it creaked loudly. She stood still for a few seconds, but none of the other servants moved so she continued into the room, closing the door gently behind her. 

She stared at the ventilation shaft, covered by a heavy metal grate, above one of the washing machines for a long time. She had formulated this plan carefully, worked it all out in her mind beforehand, but she was suddenly having doubts as to whether or not it would work. She knew that the Saiyans had kept her escape pod; it was locked away in the transport holding complex that was less than a quarter mile from the castle. She had just figured it would still be in working order, but now a prick of fear came into her at the thought that it might be broken. She shook away this apprehension. It was not the time to doubt herself now. She should just go through with her plan.

She climbed atop the washing machine and stood before the grate. She could just barely reach it. She popped the top off of the vial, being careful not to let the substance touch her skin, and splashed it along the edges of the metal grate. It sizzled and hissed, steaming as the substance ate at the metal. When the reaction had stopped, she fired up the small laser knife and applied it to the metal. For a few seconds nothing happened, and then the metal began to melt away. Katsu grinned in spite of herself. Her plan was working just fine so far.

It took a good half hour to get the metal grate totally off, and Katsu was sweating from the heat of the laser. She took the metal grate and placed it carefully by her feet. The ventilation shaft would be a tight squeeze, a very tight squeeze, but she thought she could just barely manage it. She gripped the edges of the shaft and hoisted herself into it.

A wave of claustrophobia hit her as she shimmied her way entirely into the shaft. She stopped moving, breathing hard, concentrating. She had the urge to back out of the shaft, but fought it. She had not come this far to turn back now. She calmed herself and then continued wriggling through the shaft, keeping her hands, still clutching her tools, stretched out in front of her. It took quite a while, but she eventually reached the other end of the shaft and carefully did the same to this metal grate as she had to the other one. It took almost twice as long this time, as her mobility was limited, but she was eventually able to push the grate out and slide free of the shaft.

She stood up and for a moment could only stare. The stars and nearly full moon shone bright above her, not through a window this time, but actually above her. A soft wind whistled through her hair and she stretched her arms out to feel it. It was the first time in the months that she had been here that she had been outside; the first time she could remember being outside besides the time when she had first arrived here. It was beautiful. The air smelled so fresh, the sky was so beautiful. She could not wait to be able to enjoy the sensations of the outside from a planet where she could be free.

She ducked low on the ground, figuring she would have plenty of time to revel in the great outdoors later. She crawled across the ground quietly, slightly scared that she would be seen under the brightness of the moon. Apparently, no one was looking out their windows at this hour, because no alarm went up, no shouts of "Escapee!" were heard. She began to grow bolder, crawling faster. The castle got farther and farther behind her. She had allowed herself to forget about the collar around her neck and what might be about to happen.

She continued to crawl and then, suddenly, the collar beeped. She froze. Her body tensed all over as she was suddenly convinced that it was going to explode. She squeezed her eyes shut, wondering if she would be able to feel any pain at all or if it would be totally instantaneous.

Nothing happened. It suddenly occurred to her that the collar could have sent some kind of signal, alerted the guards or Vegeta himself. No guards came running out of the castle, so that was not the case, but it did not rule out Vegeta. She hefted to her feet and began to run. A second later, though, she fell heavily to the ground, gasping and choking. The collar was getting tighter. She sucked in ragged breath, continuing to crawl forward, but the collar continued to tighten. Yellow flashed before her eyes; her vision dimmed. She turned and, against all her instincts, began to crawl back towards the castle. The collar began to loosen, but not fast enough. She was not going to be conscious long enough to get back inside the range where it would loosen all the way.

She rolled over on her back, unable to move at all. Her vision pulsed black and the last thing she saw was the moon shining above her. _I'll never see the sky again, _she thought with anguish, wanting to cry but not having the energy to. She was able to breath a little bit now, but not enough. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she lost consciousness.

**To Be Continued...**


	11. Ch 11

"Wicked Game" Ch. 11

By Shawna

Katsu's brain cleared away the fog of unconsciousness painfully slow. She did not open her eyes immediately upon waking, something that was unusual for her. She lay where she was and groaned at the throb of pain in her head that resulted from the slightest movement on her part. For a second she could not remember what had happened, and then it all flooded back to her. She had tried her escape plan. It would have worked beautifully if not for the collar Vegeta had put on her neck. At this she grimaced and, despite the pain it caused, clenched her fist and bashed it against whatever was under her.

Whatever it was, it was relatively soft, softer than her old cot, and this caused her to open her eyes. For a moment there was nothing in front of her but a blur of color. She blinked a few times and things slowly began to come into focus. An ornately decorated room; far away from her, the familiar chair in front of a large window, the enormous and comfortable bed on the other end of the room. Vegeta's bedroom. What was she doing in here? And on a makeshift bed on the floor?

She tried to raise her hands and it was then that she felt something heavy around one of her wrists. Her other hand went immediately to the wrist and she raised her head painfully to look at it. A thick manacle was wrapped around her wrist, attached to a thick chain about six feet long that was held securely to the wall. For a moment she only stared, not fully comprehending. Then anger started to build inside her, but when she moved to sit up, pain exploded in her head and she fell back onto the thin mattress beneath her.

"You probably shouldn't try to move much."

Katsu turned her head slowly toward Vegeta, who had emerged from the bathroom and was watching her. She could only look at him, with no emotion on her face. She felt angry, and wanted to say something to him, but she felt too weak to even open her mouth to speak. He approached her slowly, kneeling down next to her head.

"I told you not to try anything with that collar on," he said. Katsu noticed that though his tone was hard and his words cocky as usual, he was speaking very softly, as if aware that her head was throbbing and loud talking would cause her significant pain. She mumbled incoherently in reply. He slipped a hand under her head and raised it just a bit, gently.

"Drink this," he said, bringing a small vial to her lips. "It tastes terrible but it will make you feel better."

For a moment she kept her lips closed, planning on rejecting any help he offered, but the pain in her head got the best of her. She opened her mouth and let Vegeta pour the bitter liquid down her throat. She gagged a bit at the taste, but swallowed it all. Vegeta recapped the vial and rose.

"Rest," he said. "I'll come back in a while and... we'll talk about what's going to happen to you." He turned and left the room quickly, before Katsu could say anything. Of course, she could not have said anything if she had wanted to. She could think of nothing to say and felt too weak to say it anyway. She turned over on her side, facing the wall, and left herself drift back to sleep.

She had no idea how long it had been when she woke again, but the reddish sunlight streaming in the window told her that it was late evening. She looked around the room and found that she was alone. The pain in her head had subsided to a dull ache in the back of her skull, and it did not worsen when she sat up. She stretched; her legs felt stiff and sore. The thin mattress felt soft immediately under her, but the floor beneath it was hard and this had caused painful pressure points against her back and knees to form while she slept. She stretched again, rubbing at the sore spots. She wondered how long she had been out and what would happen when Vegeta came back. Would she be punished or even killed? She did not want to think about it, and so put her back against the wall and brought her knees up so she could rest her head on them. She wrapped her arms around her legs and sat, waiting.

More than an hour must have passed before the doorknob turned and the door fell open. It was mostly dark by now, but Katsu had been sitting in this darkness and so her eyes were well adjusted and she could see Vegeta perfectly as he came into the room. His eyes shone as he looked at her for a few seconds, his gaze almost predatory. Katsu swallowed hard, feeling suddenly a bit frightened as to what would happen now.

Vegeta came towards her, but stopped while he was still some distance away. "Feeling better?" He asked, but his tone was unpleasant. She did not reply.

"I warned you, didn't I?" He said. "I told you something bad would happen, but you chose not to listen to me. You could be dead right now. Lucky for you, not only does that collar choke you, it also sends a signal to me alerting me of your exact position. I came out there and found you, passed out on the lawn. I could have just thrown you into the dungeon, or I could have even carried you farther outside of the castle grounds and let the collar kill you. Instead I brought you here, to my bedroom. I gave you a bed and medicine for your pain. Even I don't know why I'm treating you so kindly."

Katsu said nothing, and for awhile they simply stared at each other in silence. Katsu averted her eyes first, looking down at her hands. "How long was I out?" She asked quietly.

"Only the rest of that night and all this morning. I came in and gave you the medicine around midday and its nighttime now, as you've probably figured out. You weren't out long."

She brought one of her hands to her neck, slowly. The collar was still there and the flesh under it was painfully bruised. She shook the chain on her wrist. "Why the chain?"

Vegeta smirked. "If I can't keep you here with advanced technology like that collar, then I'll do it the old-fashioned way. I'll chain you like an animal."

She narrowed her eyes and arched her fingers. The chain clinked as she shifted, getting her feet under her. Vegeta watched her calmly. She tensed her legs and then sprung at him, stretching out the arm that was not chained. She slashed at his face, but the chain went taut and her nails raked only the air, missing his nose by barely more than inch. She snarled and hissed at him.

He laughed. "Chaining you like an animal is appropriate, isn't it? You've been acting like one lately. Perhaps this is a show of your true nature. Too bad you can't remember what you are. You might have an excuse for this behavior then."

She drew back, pressing her back against the wall and arching her fingers against it. "When will you unchain me? When can I leave?"

He yawned. "When I feel like letting you go," he said with a wave of his hand. "I'm sure you won't try to escape again, but consider being locked in here your punishment for your attempt. I'm actually being very lenient with you. Normally the punishment for trying to escape is death. Fortunately for you, I'm the only one who knows about your little escapade and I've decided to spare you."

Katsu turned her head and pressed her cheek against the wall, saying nothing. He yawned again and then moved for the door.

"I'll be back later," he said as he opened the door. Katsu did not look at him as he cast a final glance at her before shutting the door behind him.

She slid slowly down to a seated position and rested her forehead on her drawn up knees. She sat this way alone in the darkness, thinking of nothing in particular. The bruises on her neck ached where the collar still pressed against them and the manacle was starting to chafe her wrist because she kept jingling it without thinking about it. Her thoughts scrambled, shifted, raced through everything that had happened since she had first arrived here. The way she felt about Shiro, and about Vegeta... Even she was not sure exactly how she felt about either of them.

Katsu contemplated this for some time, and more than an hour passed. The door opened slowly, soft light from the hall pouring into the darkened room. Katsu looked up, startled, not having realized how much time had passed. Vegeta stood still in the doorway for a moment, looking at her. He took a step into the room and let the door close slowly behind him on its own. They were shut into darkness again, and Katsu's eyes took a few seconds to readjust. 

She could feel Vegeta's face next to her own before she could see it. Her eyes finished adjusting and she could just barely make out his outline now. His breath was warm on her face. He said nothing as he reached up and grabbed her chin, forcing her head up before bringing his lips down onto hers with bruising force. Her body went tense and she made a small sound of surprise in her throat. Vegeta drew away from her a second later and wrapped his arms around her shoulders before burying his face in her hair. He brought her against him and held her. 

For a moment Katsu did not know what to think and stayed still. Slowly, very slowly, she brought her arms up and put one around Vegeta's back and the other around his shoulder, letting her hand fall on the back of his neck. She traced his hairline gently with her fingers. He brushed his lips across her neck, nibbling gently. She slid her hand lower on his back and, without thinking about it, slipped it under the hem of his shirt. Her fingers traced over his bare skin.

_What am I doing?_ Katsu thought suddenly. _A few hours ago I was ready to rip him open with my bare hands._ Now her hands were on his back, under his shirt, touching him gently. A brief flash of anger came over her and her nails dug into his skin. What made him think he could just come in here and start touching her this way?

He bit her neck with enough force to make her cry out, and she took her nails out of his skin. Still he did not speak, but resumed his attentions on her neck. She ran her hands lower, just above the waist of his pants, and found the base of his tail. She wrapped her fingers around it. 

Vegeta froze, obviously thinking that she might try to hurt him. The urge to grip his tail painfully tight came to her, but her sudden need to have him keep touching her prevailed. She was not quite sure why, but instead of trying to cause him pain, she stroked the base of his tail gently with one hand, and traced her fingers lightly over the skin just around his tail with the other. He sucked in a ragged breath through his teeth, resting his forehead on her neck. She grinned. His tail was sensitive to more feelings than just pain.

Vegeta moaned and she took one of her hands away as he lowered himself to the thin mattress, his arms around Katsu's shoulders making sure he took her with him. She ended up flat on her back with Vegeta on his side next to her. He leaned over her, putting one of his arms on the ground on the other side of her. The darkness was almost complete and she could make out very little of him through it. A second later his lips were groping for hers in the darkness and then they met, Katsu opening her mouth to his exploring tongue. 

Katsu felt Vegeta bringing one of his legs over her own, and then he shifted his weight up, straddling her, supporting himself on his knees, one of which was on each side of her thighs. He was still kissing her as one of his hands went for the laces of her dress, deftly undoing them. He pushed the top part of the dress open and brought up his other hand, tracing the contours of her body. He broke their kiss and lowered his head slowly, deliberately. She moaned when his warm tongue began tracing light patterns across her chest. His tail came up, running across her neck, along her jaw line and over her lips. She arched her back as his tail went down and began trailing Vegeta's tongue in its path across her body. 

Katsu was aflame. Lust burned through all her senses, emanated from both of them in almost tangible waves. Her feelings of hate towards him, her attraction, her anger, and her pent up sexual frustration all drove her to crave Vegeta with a deep longing that seemed to come not from her mind but somewhere else in her body, and thus she had no control over it. She ran her hands down Vegeta's back, gripping the bottom of his shirt when she reached it, and pulled. He took his mouth away from her long enough to allow her to pull the shirt up and over his head and toss it away. She ran her hands down his now bare back, wrapping a hand around the base of his tail and stroking it gently while her other hand went around his waist and traced over the rock hard muscles of his stomach. He brought one of his own hands up, tracing it over her neck and up to her lips. Her lips had become greedy for contact and she could not be sure if he put two of his fingers into her mouth or if she caught them there herself. Either way, she nibbled and sucked at his fingers as his mouth did the same things to her body.

Presently, he drew his fingers out of her mouth so he could move his mouth lower on her body. He drew back a bit and pushed her dress up around her waist, his hand tracing the line between her closed legs, encouraging her to open them. She reached down to bury her hands in his hair as she let him spread her legs. One of her hands could not reach though, and it jerked back as the chain attached to the shackle around her wrist went taut. They were too far away from the place where it attached to the wall to allow Katsu complete freedom of movement.

"Vegeta," she said.

He mumbled something, his lips against her inner thigh.

"Take this chain off," she said, jingling the chain around her wrist.

His head snapped up, his eyes wide. He stared at her and Katsu was taken aback by the anger in his eyes.

"Don't tell me what to do," he said. "I have that chain on you for a reason."

She was shocked. "What?" She said angrily. "Who cares about that now? Just take it off."

"No," he said simply.

"Then get your face out from between my legs," she said with growing anger.

"What if I don't?" He asked haughtily.

"You're not going to _rape_ me, are you?" She said evenly, leveling a disdainful gaze at him.

He said nothing at this, staring back at her. He grunted in anger and hefted himself to his feet, turning his back on her and walking quickly away.

"Fine," he said with a wave of his hand. "But don't try to act like you weren't begging for it before you decided to throw a fit over your chain. You were."

"And you weren't?" She asked angrily, tauntingly. "You're still in rut, I see. What's the matter? Can't you get any from a willing girl?"

He whirled back around to face her, and before she even knew what he was going to do he was in front of her. A slap echoed in the room as he backhanded her across the face. She left her head turned to the side, bringing her hand up to place gently on the hot sting on her cheek. He stalked away from her again, heading towards his bed. He threw his shoes onto the floor and climbed into the bed, turning off the light beside it as he did so.

"What a mutt," she said. "Sleeping in your clothes."

"I took off my shirt."

"Actually, I took off your shirt. If you weren't so cocky I would have taken off more."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll shut up now."

"You're too stubborn. All you had to do was take off the damn chain."

"What makes you think I want you that badly? To actually do something that you ask of me just so I can have a go at your below average body?"

"You sure pay a lot of attention to this 'below average' body of mine."

"Shut up now or I'll come over there and knock you out myself."

"You should have thought about this before chaining me up in your bedroom."

"Go to sleep! Now!"

Katsu laid down and turned over, facing the wall, not having anything else to say to the prince and not fancying the idea of him knocking her out. She huffed, far too worked up to actually sleep. She lay with her arms crossed over her chest, angry. Vegeta's uneven breathing and frequent changes of position told her that he was not sleeping either.

_What are we doing?_ She wondered. _What kind of game are we playing with each other? And why? What are either of us trying to accomplish? Even I don't know what I'm after..._

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Ch 12

"Wicked Game" Ch. 12

By Shawna

For a moment Katsu could not remember where she was. There was something soft beneath her; not soft like a real bed but far more comfortable than the cot she had become accustomed to. She shifted over onto her other side and a cold weight pressed against her thigh. There was a metallic clink.

She opened her eyes to Vegeta's bedroom and it all flooded back to her. She groaned and shifted back to her other side to get the chain off of her body. It was much later in the morning then she was accustomed to waking. Vegeta was still asleep in his bed. A pang hit her when she thought suddenly of Shiro. What was he thinking? He probably thought she had escaped, or had been caught and killed. She had to let him know that though she was still here, she was alive. She began banging the chain around her wrist against the wall. Vegeta stirred.

"Wake up, your Highness," she said sarcastically. "You should be calling for your breakfast soon."

He groaned and shifted. "Stop that," he called angrily, his voice muffled by sleep and the blankets around him.

Katsu hit the chain against the wall with greater force. "You'd better hurry and get up," she said. "Before I knock a hole in your lovely wall here."

He groaned again and sat up in the bed, staring right at her. His eyes were sleepy but full of anger. Katsu stared right back at him, smirking. Neither of them moved for a few seconds and then Vegeta threw back the covers and rose from his bed, completely naked. Katsu gasped and turned her head away, her instinctive reaction, and shielded her eyes with her hand.

Vegeta laughed and she heard his footsteps approaching her. He gripped her wrist, pulled her hand away from her eyes. His grip tightened to a painful extent and she whined through her teeth, falling back against the wall.

"Scared to look?" He asked. "That's funny, I figured you would probably gape."

Katsu was uncomfortably aware of how close he was to her, unclothed. Her cheeks felt hot and she knew she was blushing. Vegeta snickered.

"Look at you blushing. You act like you think you're a seductress or something, but you're an innocent. You're more like a child than a woman."

Katsu jerked her wrist, surprised when he let it go easily and she was free of his grasp. "That's not true," she said angrily, rubbing at her aching wrist. She looked up at Vegeta, staring him in the eyes, fighting back her embarrassment of his current state. He was smirking.

"Oh, it isn't? We'll see."

With this he turned and walked away from her, leaving her hot with embarrassment but with a strange feeling in her stomach. She could not deny it; she had gotten a rather good look at his entire body. At the same time it surprised her, seeing him that way made her feel...

She blushed furiously and shook the thoughts away. She hated the prince, more than anyone. He was wrong about her; she was no innocent. She was not going to let a little bit of nudity on his part intimidate her. She had shared intimate contact with him; his body should not surprise or embarrass her at all anymore.

Vegeta dressed, left the room, and returned a few minutes later carrying a length of chain. He silently attached this length of chain to the one she was currently wearing and then left the room without saying a word to her. Katsu was startled when the door slammed shut; she had been busy wondering how much farther she could reach about the room. She stared at the closed door for a moment, confused, suddenly wondering what Vegeta had meant when he had say "we'll see." 

She collapsed back onto the bed and went back to sleep. She was not sure how long she slept, but the room was still empty when she woke up. For a few hours, it was nice to do nothing at all; a nice change of pace from working hard as a slave around the castle. For a few hours, it was nice. After that, it was downright boring. She had been alone all day with absolutely nothing to do. The new length of chain made it possible for her to reach the bathroom, but not far enough to use the bathtub or shower. She needed a bath, too; badly, but she would probably be too embarrassed to use Vegeta's bath anyway. At any rate, she was sick of being here, sitting around, bored. Even working was better than this, because at least it was something to do and she had Shiro for company.

Shiro. Katsu wondered what he was doing right now, what he thought had happened to her. It might have reached him that she was alive and safe, but chained up in Vegeta's bedroom. It might have reached him, but it likely had not. She had to find some way to communicate with him.

Katsu was still contemplating when Vegeta came back into his room that evening. He was dressed in one of those bodysuits the Saiyans seemed to like so much, and he was flushed and sweaty. He greeted her with a smirk as he passed by, already peeling off the suit. He disappeared into the bathroom and a second later she could hear the shower water running. She sighed wistfully; she needed a shower too. Vegeta's body suit came flying out of the bathroom and landed on her. She squealed in surprise and then in disgust, kicking the sweaty garment away from her. Vegeta stuck his head out of the bathroom and laughed at her.

"That's revolting!" She said, grimacing. 

"That's why I'm taking a shower," he said. "You could probably use one, too, speaking of revolting." He looked her over appraisingly. "You look awful. I can't imagine you smell any better."

"Well, whose fault is that?" She said angrily. "I certainly didn't chain myself up so I couldn't reach the bathtub."

"You can't reach it?" He asked, seeming surprised. Katsu got the distinct impression that he had known full well that she would be unable to reach the shower. "Well, that's too bad." He disappeared back into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. She growled in frustration.

It was a full thirty minutes later when Vegeta reemerged, wrapped in a bath robe. Katsu snickered.

"Cute robe," she said sarcastically.

"Cute?" He looked utterly insulted by the word. "In that case, I'll take it off." He undid the bathrobe and let it slide to the floor. Katsu rolled her eyes. 

"Why do you insist on parading yourself naked in front of me? You're going to have to be a lot more subtle than that if you're trying to seduce me."

He snorted, going over to the closet next to his bed. "I wouldn't even have to try to seduce you. All I have to do is start kissing you and you go all submissive on me."

Katsu huffed. "Is that so?" She asked. "Well, how come I've pushed you away so many times? That doesn't sound very submissive to me. Nor does it make it sound as though I'm so easy."

He slipped into a pair of boxers and then a pair of pants and a loose fitting shirt. Katsu kept her eyes on the wall as he dressed, and avoided looking at him even when she heard him approaching her. He crouched next to her and gripped her chin, bringing her head around to face him.

"You're an innocent," he said. "You know what your instincts tell you, and that is all."

"Maybe so," she said. "What do you care, anyway?"

He laughed softly. "I don't really. It just makes me laugh, because you have such a skewed perspective of your own sexuality. You know so little."

She set her jaw defiantly. "You once told me I knew nothing about you," she said. "Well, now I might say the same thing. You don't know anything about me." She jerked her chin out of his grasp and turned away from him. At the same time that she burned with indignation at his words, she wondered how right he was. She had felt longings for him, done what she had felt like doing, but what did she really know? Whether or not she was physically a virgin, she was mentally one. Was that why he was toying with her? He saw her innocence and found it amusing?

"You're stubborn," he said. Out of the corner of her eye, Katsu could see him draw a cylindrical object out from one of his pockets. It was a key; it looked like the one that went to her collar. "This key undoes your chains." 

Katsu heard this and whirled on Vegeta, trying to take the key. He held it back out of her reach and laughed. "No, no, pussy cat," he said with a smirk. "I'm not going to give it to you, but I might be persuaded to take off your chains long enough to let you bathe."

Katsu stared at him evenly, annoyed. "And how might I persuade you?" She asked evasively, dreading what he might say.

"Nothing too fancy," he replied. "Just ask me respectfully."

A sense of reproach rushed through Katsu. He wanted to make her bow down and treat him with respect. She rankled at the thought of being respectful to him ever again. He grinned when he saw the look that came over her face.

"What did I say? Stubborn." He started to rise. Urgency rushed up in Katsu. She needed a bath, she wanted out of these chains, he was in charge anyway whether she wanted to be rebellious or not, it would not matter if she feigned respect for a few seconds. She reached out her hand and gripped his calf before he could leave. He turned around and looked down at her.

She released him and lowered her upper body down. "Please your Highness," she said, trying to keep her voice clean of anger and resentment. "Will you remove my chains long enough for me to shower?"

She kept her head to the ground, angry with herself but looking forward to bathing. Vegeta crouched down beside her.

"All right, serving girl," he said. "But don't take too long in the shower."

She rankled at being called 'serving girl,' but forced herself to remain calm while he slid the key into the hole on the shackle around her wrist. It beeped and then opened, falling off her wrist. Katsu sprung to her feet and made a dart for the bathroom, throwing the door closed behind her. She half expected Vegeta to tell her to leave the door open or something like that, but there was only silence from the bedroom. She breathed a sigh of relief and peeled her dress off of her skin. She sniffed lightly at the dress, made a face, and kicked it into a corner of the room. 

The shower was quite exceptional. It was situated in the middle of the bathroom, with the shower head coming straight down from out of the ceiling. An octagon of glass, frosted up to what would be about shoulder height on Katsu, surrounded the tile and drain. Katsu stepped lightly into the shower, closing the glass door delicately behind her. The knobs for adjusting the water were attached to the shower head, and she could barely reach them. One of the knobs caused icy cold water to pour down on her and she gasped, pressing herself against the glass. She reached up and gave the other knob a twist and the temperature of the water evened out to a comfortable warmth. She stepped under the downpour and simply let it run over her body for some time. There were two bottles in the shower, one filled with a smooth gel and the other full of something that felt slightly gritty. She chose the gel for her hair and the course cream for her body and gave herself a good scouring. There was no soap down in the showers that the servants had to use, and it felt incredibly good to Katsu to be thoroughly clean for the first time in quite a while.

She had no idea how long she took bathing, but her fingers were beginning to prune when she finally turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She wrung out her hair gently, shook water the water drops from her body. There were dry towels hanging on a rack and she helped herself to a fluffy looking white one, reveling in how soft and clean it felt against her. It had been so long since she had enjoyed such amenities. She could not even remember, in fact...

It hit her then, a very vivid memory of a very hot bath. She saw herself in her head as though watching a movie. Steam rose in thin tendrils around her face, and she was damp with more than just the vapor in the air. She was crying, tears streaking down her face, and an overwhelming feeling of sadness came over Katsu; she was remembering how she had felt at the time of this memory. She could not, however, remember why she had been crying.

She stood for some time remembering, wrapped in the towel, staring into space. It took a light rap on the door to snap her from her reverie. She turned as the door opened. Vegeta stood in the doorway glaring at her. She gaped at him.

"You can't just barge in here!" She said, aghast. "What if I wasn't decent or something?"

"Like I would have cared," he said, brushing aside her indignation. "I told you not to take a long time in my shower. What could you possibly have been doing all that time?"

She blushed. "I was... I had a memory come back to me; I was thinking about it."

"Don't waste water doing things you can do outside of the shower," he said firmly. Katsu wondered if Vegeta really cared at all about conserving natural resources, or if he was just looking for an excuse to be angry with her.

"Sorry," she said softly, turning away. She moved to retrieve her dress but stopped in midstep. It would not make sense to put that dirty thing back on when she had just gotten so clean.

"Um," she said hesitantly. "I, uh, don't have any other clothes with me, and I'd really like to put something clean on..."

She felt silly asking Vegeta for clothes, surely he would tell her no. To her surprise he said nothing at all, simply leaving the room. She watched him cross his bedroom and almost gasped out loud when he went to the closet and pulled out a clean blue shirt. He came back to the bathroom and threw the shirt to her wordlessly, closing the door behind him as he left. Katsu held the shirt in her hands and stared at the closed door. He was being almost kind to her; letting her shower and giving her something clean to put on. Why? He was an enigma; Katsu could never hope to understand the undoubtedly complex workings of his mind. At the moment, she decided she should just be grateful for his unexpected hospitality.

The shirt felt wonderfully clean and comfortable against her skin as she slid it over her head. It was far too big; the sleeves went past her fingers and drowned her arms, and the bottom hem hung almost to her knees. It was then she realized she also needed clean underwear. She would have to ask Vegeta if she could go down to the servants' quarters and get some from her meager collection of belongings.

Vegeta was waiting for her right outside the bathroom when she opened the door. A pair of white panties hung from a finger of his outstretched hand. She gaped.

"I figured you would want these," he said, smirking. "Don't look so scandalized; they're yours. I had one of my guards bring them while you were showering."

Katsu felt a blush creeping in her cheeks. She snatched the panties from him, embarrassed, and went back into the bathroom to put them on. Vegeta had thought about what she would want, had had one of his guards fetch it. It was almost too considerate a gesture for her to fathom the prince thinking of, embarrassing as it may have been. Tonight was one of those times; those odd times when he seemed like an almost decent person.

She found him sitting on his bed when she emerged from the bathroom. She hesitated, and then went quietly to the bed on the floor that was hers. He watched her silently. Neither of them moved or spoke for several minutes. The tension in the air was almost tangible; thick and weighted. The way Vegeta watched her made Katsu's chest feel tight, but it was not an unpleasant sensation. She became gradually aware of what the tension was. It was lust. She wanted him and could almost feel the mutual feeling coming from him. At the same time, she felt a sudden stab of fear when she realized that should they start now, there would be no running away, no sudden fight to stop it, no going back. It would go all the way.

Vegeta rose slowly and Katsu began to tremble with both anticipation and apprehension. He approached her, stood over her silently. His hand reached down and he touched her cheek lightly, tracing his thumb across her lips. She looked down as he bent over, taking her face into his hands, tilting it up, and pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was light at first, tentative, as though they were kissing for the first time. Vegeta's hands slid down Katsu's neck, slipped under her arms and then he pulled her to her feet. He pinned her gently to the wall, one of his hands going under her shirt while the other came up to her chin and pushed it gently down, opening her mouth to him. 

At first Vegeta had seemed very calm, but Katsu could feel his need rising. His kiss became more demanding, his hands assaulted her body roughly. He gripped the backs of her thighs, forcing her legs up around his hips. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him desperately, both reveling in and afraid of his driving passion. He put one of his hands under her, supporting her, and the other went under her shirt again. His mouth broke from hers, only to latch onto her neck. He bit hard enough to make her cry out. The hand under her shirt moved down, into her panties. She breathed hard, afraid again, but unable to deny the longing that seemed to well up from some deep, forgotten part of her psyche. His fingers worked her body, but when one of them slid inside her, she cried out again as shudders wracked her body. Vegeta drew back, seeming surprised.

"Have you ever done this before?" He asked softly, his voice husky. He was obviously fighting for the control to speak.

Katsu shook her head. "I don't know," she said, her voice sounding desperate. "I can't remember."

Vegeta's face softened. His eyes, glazed over with need, changed just a bit. He took his hand out from under her shirt and wrapped his arm around her back, keeping the other underneath her, and moved away from the wall. She clung to him and he carried her across the room, dropping her onto his bed. She gasped as her back hit the bed, and Vegeta immediately came down on her hard. His hands gripped the bottom hem of her shirt and lifted it, drawing it over her head and up her arms, which were stretched above her head. He left the shirt bunched up around her wrists and turned his attentions to her body. His warm mouth came down on her chest and her back arched. She moaned as his hands roamed across her body, one of them removing her panties in its progress. He broke from her for just a second, and as she was about to open her eyes to see what the problem was, he came back down on her, now bare chested. Fear was again with her. She suddenly did not feel ready for this, did not want to go all the way with him. She began to tremble again.

He raised his head, placing one hand on her face. "Relax," he said huskily, his other hand still tracing over her body. "Just relax, and I can make you enjoy this."

Katsu took a deep breath and hoped he was telling the truth.

* * *

_Wow._

This was Katsu's next coherent thought, and it came more than an hour later. It was dark in Vegeta's bedroom, pitch black now that the night was late. Katsu was laying on her back in Vegeta's bed with him sound asleep on top of her. HIs head was on her chest; neither of them had bothered to dress. Katsu's hands were on Vegeta's back, lightly tracing the contours of his muscles. Her legs were wrapped around his, her ankles locked around his calves. She was in as much physical contact with him as she could possibly be, and it felt good. Somehow, despite all that had happened, it felt good to be with him now.

He shifted just a bit, forcing Katsu to move as well, and she became aware of the ache deep inside her. There were also bruises on her back from being worked hard against the bed frame, and bruises on Vegeta's back as well; low on his back, circular bruises from where the backs of her heels had kicked him hard. Her thighs, wrists, and waist hurt as well. She ached all over, in fact.

_I wonder if all the men on this planet do it that way, and if they all have such… stamina._ Katsu mused briefly at this. It had been so incredible, so unexpected, not like anything she had ever thought of before…

_But I betrayed Shiro. I betrayed myself._

Katsu's eyes went wide when these thoughts entered her head unexpectedly. She had. She had betrayed Shiro, and more importantly, she had betrayed herself. All of her hatred towards the prince, all of the rebellious spirit she had displayed, all of that she had betrayed in letting him take her to his bed. She had given in to him without a fight at all.

Tears sprung, unbidden, to her eyes. _What have I done?_ She sobbed quietly, trying not to wake Vegeta. Anguish wracked her mind; guilt flooded her senses. She had not wanted this.

One of Vegeta's hands came up a second later and touched her cheek lightly. She froze as his fingertips traced the path of one of her tears.

"You're crying," he said softly, needlessly. She said nothing.

"Katsu…" He said her name, for the first time. She was taken briefly aback; she had not even been sure if he knew her name. He said it again, tenderly, almost sadly.

"Katsu, I'm sorry if I was too rough with you. I didn't mean to be violent. I wasn't trying to hurt you."

Katsu remained silent for a moment. "You're… you're sorry?" She said almost inaudibly.

"Yes," he replied. "But don't ask me to say it again, because I won't. I just thought you should know that it wasn't fully intentional to cause you as much pain as I think I did. I wasn't really expecting you to be a virgin."

"I was a virgin?" Katsu asked.

"Yes."

Katsu said nothing to this, and Vegeta's breathing eventually became even again and she knew he had fallen back to sleep. _I was a virgin,_ she mused. _I was one. I'm not anymore._

She had learned another thing about her past, even if it was not from a direct memory. And this planet had taken another thing from her that she could never have back.

**To Be Continued…**


	13. Ch 13

"Wicked Game" Ch. 13

By Shawna

Katsu awoke before dawn. The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was Vegeta asleep next to her and she nearly screamed. It came flooding back to her, though; what had happened the night before. She rolled over onto her back and her body seared with pain. She gritted her teeth and hissed, spreading her legs slowly, hoping to find a position which would not hurt her so much. There were two bite marks, one on her neck and the other on her stomach, and they both ached now. She hoped they were not getting infected. She suddenly felt angry with Vegeta for causing her so much pain.

Vegeta's hand traced up the outer edge of her thigh suddenly, and Katsu jumped, causing another jolt of pain through her sore body.

"You're awake early," he said softly. Katsu did not turn to look at him. "You look like you're in pain. You must be really sore, because even I ache a little bit."

"I can hardly move without causing myself so much pain I feel like I could pass out," she said through gritted teeth.

Vegeta laughed scornfully. "Well, you'd better get over that, because you're going back to work today."

Katsu flipped over to face Vegeta, ignoring her body's painful protest to such rapid movement. "Work?!" She whispered harshly, so angry she could barely speak. "What do you mean, work? You can't send me back to work now."

Vegeta regarded her coolly for moment, and then he moved so rapidly Katsu could not tell what he was doing until she was flat on her back on the floor. Fire ran through her muscles.

"Obviously, I can do whatever I want," Vegeta said from atop the bed. "Now get dressed and get out."

Katsu scrambled to her feet, her face contorting from the pain of so much movement.

"I knew I was making a mistake," she said, quivering in anger. "I never should have let you-"

"Let me?" He scoffed. "You couldn't have stopped me if you'd wanted to, which you didn't. You're just lucky I was gentle with you."

"Gentle?!" She fairly screamed at him. "You weren't gentle at all! That was the most painful experience I've ever had, next to the time you whipped me! You don't know how to be gentle!"

He shrugged. "Well, that was gentle for me. But it doesn't matter, you'll never have to go through it again. I told you that you were just entertaining to toy with. What does one do with a toy after it is broken? Throws it away. So get out."

She breathed heavily through her nose and glared daggers at him before turning on her heel, heading towards the bathroom. Her dress was still laying rumbled in a corner and she snatched it off the ground, brushing it with her hands to try to ease the wrinkles from the fabric. She slipped the dress on and stormed from the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Curses streamed from her mouth all the way down the stairs. The servants' quarters were still dark and quiet when she entered, it being nearly a half an hour before dawn. Katsu went quickly to her empty cot and flopped down on it, feeling pain course through her body, angry with Vegeta and even more so with herself. She fumed in silence for several minutes before a whispered voice spoke.

"Katsu? Katsu, that is you, isn't it? You're alive."

She turned her head toward the sound. "Shiro?"

He was beside her cot a second later, wrapping his arms around her, clinging to her desperately. She gasped lightly at the pain of being squeezed but did not fight Shiro off.

"Katsu," he said, his voice thick, sounding as though he were on the verge of tears. "I thought for sure you had been killed. I heard that you had been caught but I didn't know that you were still alive. I was so worried."

She brought her arms up slowly around him. "I'm all right, Shiro," she whispered. This was a lie, though, of course. She was far from all right, as both her body and mind were angry with her for what she had done.

The pair of them stayed in each other's arms until dawn broke and the other servants began rousing themselves for another day of work. Many of the servants were shocked to see Katsu back and still in one piece. Everyone had heard of her failed escape attempt and she received several contemptuous and mocking sneers. She brushed these off, too busy worrying about more important matters to bother with what the other petty servants thought of her.

Shiro never asked Katsu where she had been for those days after she had been caught, and she was glad for this. It took several days, but her soreness eventually faded away to nothing. Something seemed empty inside of her, though, and it hurt more than her body ever had. Vegeta had tossed her aside just like the broken toy he had told her she was. That night, she had almost felt as though she could actually grow to like the prince, but he had sent that vision crashing to the ground in pieces. Now she did not know how to feel.

She became reticent and irritable, much to Shiro's chagrin. Vegeta never called her wanting anything and so for more than a week she saw nothing of him. 

"Katsu," Shiro sat down on her cot one night, looking concerned. "I'm worried about you. You've been acting really strange since you came back a week ago. I want to know... If you need to talk about it, you can tell me. Did they do something to you Katsu?"

Katsu turned away from Shiro. "No," she said. "I was locked in the dungeon and whipped a few times, but nothing more than that. I'm just upset because I got so close to getting out of here."

Shiro hugged her. "I'm so sorry you didn't get away Katsu. I really hoped you had escaped, and when I heard that you had been caught my heart just broke for you."

Katsu said nothing, wondering, as she always did, at Shiro's sincerity. He liked her having her around, she knew that. Perhaps he really was not so sad that she was still here. Either way, he was now the only comfort she had and so she clung to him and allowed herself to cry for the first time that week.

Shiro held her until she had wept herself dry. He took her chin in his hand as she was drawing away from him, and wiped away the damp trails the tears had left down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the feel of his soft, delicate fingers caressing her cheek with infinite tenderness. Vegeta would likely never know how to touch her with such care, even if he had continued his relationship with her for their entire lives. It just did not seem that he had the gentleness of spirit in him anywhere.

Her eyes were still closed when Shiro's lips brushed gently across hers. At first she thrilled in the softness of this intimate gesture, having not felt a gentle show of affection for some time and her last intimate encounter being nearly violent, but then a sense of being tainted, of not deserving Shiro's attentions because she had been dishonest with him came over her and she pushed him away.

He kept his hands on her face even as she pushed him back. "Katsu," he said softly, sadly. "Why won't you let me love you? I do love you, Katsu, and I thought maybe... I thought you returned my feelings. What's the problem? Please be honest with me and tell me why you don't let me show you how much I love you."

Katsu's face contorted painfully. "You love me?" She breathed. He nodded earnestly. "Then I'm sorry," she said, her voice full of weariness. "I'm sorry that you fell in love with me."

His face fell into a look of extreme hurt, but Katsu turned away, putting her back to him before he could speak or she could see any more of his sad face. A few seconds passed and then she heard him rise slowly, hesitate, and then move away from her cot. He sat down heavily on his own and she avoided looking in his direction for the rest of the evening.

Her sleep that night was light, fitful, and plagued by nightmares. She had not dreamt of the amber-eyed demon recently, but tonight it filled her dreams with its harrowing face, and something new: a ghastly banshee shriek that it threw back its head and howled into the world of her mind. She tried to run from it but could not escape it no matter what she did in her dream. It was an ever present force, and yet it did not once try to hurt her. It merely stayed at her side.

The blanket was damp and stuck to her sweaty skin when she woke in the morning. She groaned and threw it off, glad for the cool air that immediately rushed over her body. She breathed deeply, relaxing herself, trying to banish the memories of the nightmares she had had. Of course that did not happen; the nightmares would torment her almost as much while she was awake as they had while she slept.

She went through the motions of the morning routine with Shiro; straightening up in the third floor. She rankled at the thought of Vegeta in his room, sleeping comfortably in his huge bed, the bed he had shared with her and then kicked her out of as though she were nothing. These thoughts had driven her crazy every morning since what had happened. Hatred ran like ice water through her veins now; she wanted nothing more than to kill the prince.

She was on her way back to the staircase, quite a ways behind Shiro, when a hand gripped her arm. She whirled around to face Vegeta, bringing her arm up to strike him without even thinking about it. He caught her fist in his hand and smirked at her.

"Still feisty," he said, sounding amused. "Come to my chambers tonight after the other servants are asleep."

She jerked her fist out of his grip. "Why should I?" She asked. "You don't still want to play with this broken toy, do you?"

He ignored this comment and repeated himself. "Come to my bedroom tonight. I'm not asking you." With this he tossed her aside and walked back to his room. 

"I won't!" Katsu screamed at his back. The door to his bedroom slammed shut in response. She shook all over, fuming, staring at the closed door and clenching her fist. She whirled around on her heel to see Shiro standing in the doorway to the stairs, eyeing her quizzically. She brushed past him and took the stairs two at a time down.

To her surprise, Shiro did not ask what the whole episode had been about. She went through the rest of the day in seething silence and Shiro seemed a bit afraid to approach her at all. This did not bother her; she was rather glad for the fact that he was not prying into the details of her life that could lead him to a knowledge of what had happened between her and Vegeta. This was something she would be much happier keeping to herself.

That night, Katsu lay on her cot wide awake. The other servants were drifting off; their breath becoming even in sleep.

_I will not go to him. I absolutely will not._

Katsu wanted to go to him. She would not admit this, least of all to herself, but she wanted to. She was not sure what would happen between them if she did, but she wanted to know. In the back of her mind, she actually wanted to be with him again.

_I won't go to him, I won't go to him,_ she began chanting in her mind, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to will herself to sleep. No such luck; she was very much awake and very much ready to hop out of this bed and go up those stairs.

_I won't go to him, I won't go to him._ She kept up the chant, but it seemed to be losing its strength in her mind. By the sound of the breathing, Katsu could tell that only one more person was awake in the room.

_I won't go to him, I won't go to him, I won't go to him._ The breathing fell into a rhythm. Everyone in the room was asleep now. Katsu lay still for a few seconds, keeping her eyes squeezed shut. There was no sound in the room. A second later, Katsu got up, and went to him.

She went up the stairs as if in a dream, cursing herself the entire trip, until she stood before the doors to his bedroom. For several seconds she did not move and then the door opened on its own and Vegeta pulled her into the room, slamming the door behind her, pressing his mouth to hers, kissing her violently.

She pushed him away with a snarl. He stood, staring at her, smirking.

"You think I'm going to just fall back into your bed?" She asked angrily. "You hurt me, physically and emotionally. I don't usually make the same mistake twice, Vegeta." This was the first time she had called him by his name to his face, and she spat the word as though it tasted bad in her mouth. He merely stared, still smirking.

Katsu took a deep breath. She had increased in skill at raising her power level with anger, and since she was already seething with rage it took very little concentration and even less time to raise her power to its fighting level. A second later, before he could see what she was doing, she flung herself at Vegeta, fists flying. One punch found its target before Vegeta retaliated, blocking her and throwing his own blows. The two began to fight viciously.

The fight lasted only a few minutes before Vegeta grabbed her fist as she was punching and gripped it so hard that she gasped in pain.

"I didn't bring you here to fight with you," he said. 

She jerked her fist out of his grasp and rubbed at it. "Then why did you tell me to come here at all? You told me you weren't interested in me anymore because I was 'broken.'"

He shook his head, scoffing. "Well, now I see that your spirit isn't as broken as I thought it was. And, besides, admit it, Katsu. It was good. You know that and I'm painfully aware of it. That's why I told you to come here again. I figured you would know that one on your own."

Now it was Katsu's turn to scoff. "I already told you that I don't make the same mistake more than once."

"You think it was a mistake?"

"I know it was."

"Then why did you come back?"

She faltered at this question. Why had she come? She really had not been forced to, despite him telling her that he was "not asking" her to come. She could have stayed in the servants' quarters. 

He smirked. "No answer to that? You see now?" He took a step towards her. She held her ground, setting her jaw defiantly.

"Stay away from me," she said firmly. "I will never let you touch me again."

"You can't stop me."

"So you're going to prove yourself to be the animal I've always thought you were?"

He narrowed his eyes at this, and Katsu saw the anger flicker below his eyelids. He took another step, grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. Before she could react, he had pulled both of her wrists behind her and was holding them tightly.

"I hate you," she snarled into his face.

"And you think I love you or something?" He replied. "But the way I see it now, we have two options: keep fighting or start fucking."

Katsu just glared at him. Both of them were seething, almost tangible waves of anger coming off of them. They stared into each other's eyes, and then suddenly their mouths clashed together. Tongues warred, hands tore at clothing; it was the only other thing they could with their anger besides kill each other. Vegeta wrapped his foot around Katsu's ankle, tripping her, letting himself fall atop her as they hit the ground. They did not make it to the bed at all that night.

**To Be Continued**


	14. Ch 14

"Wicked Game" Ch. 14

By Shawna

When Katsu woke up the first thing that hit her was a feeling of déjá vú. Vegeta was asleep beside her and she ached all over; it was exactly like that morning after the first time, that morning that was more than a week old already. There were a few key differences this time, however. For one, they were on the floor, much to Katsu's sudden embarrassment. She was also pressed right up against Vegeta, with his arm over her, resting in the curve of her waist, and his tail curled around her thigh. The morning was slightly chilly and they had likely ended up wrapped around each other in their bodies' unconscious efforts to stay warm. Katsu shifted slightly and was relieved to find that the pain barely flared up at all; she was much less sore than she had been the last time. Nevertheless, she was still sore and dreaded going through another intensely painful work day.

Thinking of this, she glanced at the window was alarmed to see that it was very close to dawn. She lifted Vegeta's arm gently, let it rest on his side and tried to shimmy away without waking him. It would have been quite possible if not for the vice like grip his tail had on her thigh. She tried to pry it off, but it tensed, tightening itself to an almost painful level. Without thinking about it, she dug her fingernails into the furry brown tail.

Vegeta came awake with a yelp of pain, sitting up rapidly. Katsu released his tail, realizing what she had done.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just trying to leave before dawn and your tail was around my thigh..."

He groaned and collapsed back onto the floor. The tail released her thigh and she moved to go, but was not past a crouching position when his tail wrapped around her ankle. She turned, regarding Vegeta quizzically.

"I feel like hell," he said. "Sleeping on the floor makes me sore. Let's go to the bed."

"Let's?"

He released her ankle, rose to his feet and then bent and gripped her under the arms, pulling her to her feet. The next thing she knew, he had swept her into his arms and was carrying towards the bed.

"What are you doing?" She said, alarmed. "I have to get back before dawn."

They reached the bed, and he tossed her onto it before sitting down on it himself. She pressed her back against the headboard, wondering why he had not let, or made, her leave.

He did not speak as he reached out his hands, gripped the backs of her calves and began pulling her towards him.

"No," she said. "I mean, wha-"

He drew her into his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Just one more time," he said huskily. "Then you can go. You'll be back in time."

Katsu did not make it back in time. She fell back to sleep in Vegeta's bed, and it was almost noon when she woke up again. At first she did not know what had woken her up, but then she felt Vegeta's tail stroking her inner thigh gently.

"You've got to get going," he said softly. The next thing Katsu knew, he had rolled over on top of her. "But how about a quickie first?"

It was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon when Katsu finally got out Vegeta's room. He had not told her when, and if, she should come back, but he had told her to tell the other servants he had put her to work before dawn and for the entire morning. After all, he claimed, he _had _been working her. 

Katsu could not help but grin at the recollection of him saying that. As sordid as this situation had become, she had to admit she had been enjoying herself. Of course, how could she not enjoy herself? Rough though he may be, Vegeta was a surprisingly considerate lover; never taking his pleasure before he had given her hers and made sure she was more than ready for him. Her soreness thus far had resulted only from the duration and momentum of his actions; not from her being unready to take him. 

Katsu was still thinking about these things when she got back to the servants' quarters. Many surprised looks greeted her, but she barely noticed them as she headed for her cot.

"Where have you been?" This was Shiro, and he was approaching her fast. "And what are you smirking about?"

Katsu wiped what was apparently a satisfied look off of her face and tried to look as though she were in pain. Shiro just looked confused.

"Where were you?" He repeated.

Katsu gestured ambiguously. "Working," she said. "Vegeta called for me before dawn and put me to work for the entire morning. I ache all over, I'd like to just go lay down right now."

Shiro looked unconvinced. "You were gone really early. I woke up hours before dawn and you weren't here."

Katsu swallowed nervously. "Well, he called me really early. I guess he couldn't sleep and needed some amusement or something and so decided to torture me over it. I'm sorry if that upsets you."

Shiro's ears flattened on top of his head and Katsu knew that she had angered him, probably with her tone. He stepped aside, letting her go by. She avoided his angry gaze as she walked to her cot, laying down upon it heavily. It only took a few minutes for her to fall into a deep sleep, since she had barely gotten any decent rest the night before.

The next thing she was aware of was Shiro shaking her. She opened her eyes to his face, intent on her own. When he saw that she was awake he released her and took a step back.

"Get up," he said, his voice firm and a bit angry. "We have to go change the sheets on the prince's bed."

Katsu's eyes flew open at this and she sat up so quickly a rush of blood went to her head and made her dizzy.

"I'll go alone," she said hastily. Shiro cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Why do you want to go alone?"

Katsu cleared her throat and tried to look as though she were still angry. "I don't think being around each other is the best thing for either of us right now," she said haughtily, rising and moving past Shiro. "I just want to be alone right now." With this, she swept away from him, went to the laundry room to retrieve the fresh sheets and made her way to Vegeta's bedroom. She thought Shiro might try to follow her, but instead he just watched her leave the servants' quarters, looking thoughtful and somehow sad. Katsu dismissed the look on his face.

To her surprise, Vegeta was in his bedroom when she got there. She was briefly taken aback; he had never before been in his bedroom during the mid-afternoon.

"Well, don't lurk in the doorway," he said with a wave of his hand. "Come in, and shut the door behind you."

Katsu did as he had told her to, with a sudden creeping feeling in her stomach. Was he angry? What could he possibly be angry about? 

He was seated in what was obviously his favorite chair in front of the window, and he did not speak as he watched her cross the room and begin to strip the sheets off his bed.

"I was waiting for you and dog-boy to come up to change the sheets," he said as she worked. "I figured your absence plus the state of my bed would be enough to clue in even someone as dense as he is, so I was going to send him off on some inane task and have you change the sheets yourself. Obviously, you think a little faster than I gave you credit for because you came alone."

Katsu did not say anything as she finished making the bed, but she felt oddly pleased at his praise and this, in itself, sickened her; as though she was his pet and should wag her tail at the slightest praise from him. It was an odd thought and she dismissed it, not wanting to make herself angry with Vegeta. He gave her reason to be angry with him more than often enough; no sense in making herself angry over nothing. 

"You're not so sore today," he said, obviously noticing this by the ease with which she moved. "Come back again. Not tonight... Tomorrow night."

Katsu did not answer, wanting to make him wonder if she was going to come or not. Apparently, he did not wonder at all, because he did not speak again. Katsu finished what she was doing and moved for the door. For a second, she hesitated, somehow feeling that there was something she wanted to tell Vegeta. She could think of nothing, however, and thus went out the door silently, holding the soiled sheets in her arms. They were close to her face and they smelled like Vegeta, like her; like what they had done. A wave of something like guilt swept over her. Because of what she had done, even if she somehow managed to get off this accursed planet she would never fully escape it. She froze as explicit images rose unbidden in her mind; she would be forever haunted by visions of Vegeta with his head between her legs, Vegeta holding her down in his bed, Vegeta thrusting into her so hard that her body was pressed down far into the bed's soft mattress. 

The sheets slipped from her hands and a second later she joined them on the floor as her knees gave out. She pressed her hands to her face, biting her lip, suddenly overcome by the urge to cry. Tears began to cascade down her cheeks, between her fingers, hitting her legs. 

_What am I doing? And why do I feel this way about it? Why does it hurt so much?_

She wept silently for some time before she could regain her composure. She wiped the backs of her hands across her cheeks and gathered the sheets back into her arms before rising to go. Her face was still hot and red when she arrived back at the servants' quarters, but she hid it behind the sheets and escaped anyone's notice. 

The rest of the day dragged, and that night Katsu's sleep was light as always and rampant with dreams. It was the next day that went by far too fast; she had begun to argue with herself in her mind, telling herself that she would not go to Vegeta that night. She had been through this routine before. No matter how forcefully she told herself that she was being used and was not going to stand for it anymore, it did not matter. She wanted to go back.

She lay in her cot with her arms crossed over her chest that night. The same thought played repeatedly through her mind: _I won't go to him. _Tonight, though, it was the truth: she had already resolved not to go to him. Guilt had wracked her body since her breakdown the previous day and there was no way she was going to put herself through that again. The shadows in the room shortened; the moon was rising as the hour began to grow late. 

Katsu was just drifting to sleep when the cuff at her wrist began to beep. At first, her sleep addled brain did not draw the connection and she wondered briefly what the racket was. It took curses from the other servants to bring her fully awake and aware of what was going on. She had not changed into her sleeping clothes that night, because when the evening had first begun, she had planned on going to Vegeta. Now she wished she had thrown her dress off in a corner or into the laundry room; anything to escape the noise of the cuff, beeping insistently at her. 

She stuffed her wrist between her knees under the blanket, sufficiently muffling the sound to appease the other servants. The cuff stopped beeping a few minutes later and Katsu settled back down to sleep. She was almost there, too, almost asleep when a hand pressed against her mouth. Her first instinct was panic and she began to thrash about. Another hand gripped one of her wrists and then she saw the glint of Vegeta's eyes right before her own. 

"Shh," he whispered fiercely into her ear before scooping her into his arms. He flitted across the room silently, like a shadow across a wall, and they were on the staircase and heading away from the servants' quarters within seconds. Katsu's mind was still fogged by sleep, but it occurred to her that Vegeta had just taken quite a risk in coming down to the basement to get her. It would have seemed very odd for him to be in the servants' quarters should he have been seen by anyone else.

It was not until they reached Vegeta's room that she realized that this was exactly what she had been hoping to, and she thought she had succeeded in, avoiding: ending up in the prince's chambers. 

"No," she murmured, pushing against Vegeta's chest with her hands.

He arched an eyebrow as he gazed down at her, still holding her in his arms as he crossed the room. They ended up at the bed, where Vegeta set Katsu down on her feet beside it. Her head tilted to one side and she yawned. Vegeta traced his hand down her cheek.

"Wake up, Katsu," he said softly.

She shook her head quickly, trying to clear it of fatigue and succeeding only in hurting her neck. She tried to stifle another yawn.

"Well, I know what will wake you up," Vegeta said with a slight grin as he wrapped one hand around her back to keep her on her feet as his other hand undid the laces on her dress. As he had predicted, this did wake her up quite a bit. The material of the dress parted, cold air greeting her skin, and Katsu grabbed Vegeta's hands. He looked at her quizzically.

"You're acting strange, Katsu... What's the problem?"

Katsu bit her lip, staring into the depths of his dark eyes. "I... I don't want to do this with you anymore."

They stared at each other for a few moments, both of their faces unreadable.Then Vegeta lowered his head and pressed his lips to her collarbone.

"I meant it," Katsu said, trying to sound firm, but ending up sounding more as though she were weeping. "Just let me go back."

Vegeta pushed the dress back, off Katsu's shoulders and it fell to the ground. Tears sprung to her eyes, spilling over, trailing down her cheeks. Vegeta seemed taken aback. He gripped her wrists, raising her hands to his face and kissing her fingers lightly.

"What's wrong, Katsu? It's not like this is the first time..."

Katsu shook her head, trying to get her wrists out of his grip. "I don't know," she said. "I just don't want this."

He transferred both of her wrists to one of his hands and slipped his other hand between her legs.

"Feels like you want this to me," he said, smirking. Katsu moaned.

"No," she breathed.

It was a very quick motion: one second she was standing by the bed and the next she was flat on her back on it, her legs in the air and spread wide, Vegeta gripping her ankles.

"No!" She said again, trying to sit up. Vegeta moved one of his hands to her stomach and forced her back down. 

"I don't get it," he said. "You weren't this resistant even the first time." He paused and then a grin came over his face. "Well, its a good thing I know just what you like." With this he knelt, trailed his tongue along her inner thigh and then...

Katsu moaned and twisted her hands in the bed sheets. _Why am I being so resistant? He's right, this isn't the first time. If I wanted to keep my chastity I should have acted this way that time, not now. I don't understand. I guess I just wasn't in the mood tonight, but ..._

She lost her train of thought and a few moments later cried out, her body going tense all over. Vegeta came down onto the bed on top of her, pushing her back so they could both fit laying on the bed sideways.

He stared down into her eyes for a few moments. She kept her own gaze steady, eyeing him, remembering that she had been telling him no not long before and yet here he was, getting ready to take her anyway. 

He did something unexpected then, though; something that took Katsu a bit aback. He leaned down and started kissing her before he began.

**To Be Continued**


	15. Ch 15

"Wicked Game" Ch. 15

By Shawna

A/N: Sorry for the long delay; we're moving and things have been busy. The next few chapters should be pretty rapid in coming. ^.^

_I'm nothing more than an object to him. _

Katsu was lying on her back in Vegeta's bed, thinking this. The sky was just barely beginning to gray with the approaching dawn, yet Katsu was wide awake.

_An object, _she repeated in her mind. _Nothing more than an object._ Her fists were clenched tight and she was glaring at Vegeta, sleeping on his side next to her, with his arm slung over her stomach. A few minutes ago, he had stirred, and she was hoping he would come awake soon. Anger was bubbling in her system; she wanted to scream at him until her throat was raw. Why did she keep coming back to him?

She lay there, brooding, until Vegeta finally began to wake up. He yawned, stretching his arms out, blinking his eyes open. What a sight must have greeted him; Katsu could only imagine how she must have looked, laying in his bed staring at him, burning with rage. For a moment, he said nothing, returning her stare.

"You're always angry," he said at length. "Even a good fucking isn't enough to make you relax for a little while. What is it this time?"

"I told you no," she said softly, icily. "Didn't I tell you no last night?"

A faraway look came into his eyes, as if he were pondering this. "Yeah, I think you did."

"So why didn't you listen to me?" Katsu said, raising her voice. "When I say no, thats what I mean."

He yawned and stretched again. "I might listen to you, if I cared about your feelings."

She knew that this was the truth; he did not care about her feelings or her at all, but somehow hearing him say it so easily hurt her deeply. For a moment she thought that she was going to cry.

Vegeta seemed to notice the effect his words had had on her. He groaned and rolled over, putting his back to her.

"Maybe that's not entirely true," he said. "For what it's worth, I don't want to make you hate me anymore than you already do. Is that enough caring for your delicate feelings?"

A slight grin came over Katsu's face. Getting him to admit that he had any consideration for her at all meant that he had more than he was saying, otherwise he would have said nothing. This pleased her; some of her anger had subsided.

"Well," she said. "Next time I say no, then, you respect that. I won't go along so quietly again."

Vegeta turned to look at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Suddenly you're giving me orders? I don't have to respect your wishes." Anger flitted across her face again. He groaned. "Get over it, its not like I forced you. You can say no all you want, but I know how to get you into the mood anyway."

Katsu could not argue with this; it was true. She said nothing, and Vegeta put his back to her again, waving one of his hands at her.

"You'd better go," he said. "Its almost dawn and I'm tired. So leave."

She stared at his back for a moment, and then a smirk crossed her face. She reached out, gripped Vegeta's arm, and pulled him over onto his back. He sat up on his elbows and gazed at her quizzically.

"What are you-"

She pressed her fingers against his lips, silencing him. "Don't talk," she said. "I can do to you what you do to me. I also have a few favors to return."

She leaned over him, and pressed her lips to his collarbone. He did not move or speak, but she felt his chest heave when she began nibbling her way down, towards his stomach. Her tongue traced the outline of the firm muscles of his stomach before sliding lower, where she kissed his hipbone before moving even lower.

Vegeta moaned when he felt her warm mouth close over him. He collapsed back onto his pillow, closing his eyes, enjoying what she was doing. Somehow, her tender inexperience was more arousing than extreme skill, and he gritted his teeth, gasping. She was obviously running on instinct only, and perhaps a bit of what she had picked up from him, and this was more appealing to him than all the experienced girls he had ever been with; all the girls who had been with and learned from others before him. Katsu was his; his alone, she had never been anyone else's. In that moment, he wanted her to be his forever, to keep her with him all the time.

He cried out lightly, clenching his fists. It had been enough; he sat up and reached down, gripped her shoulders and pulled her away from him roughly. Her wide eyes questionned innocently, but he did not answer her, instead throwing her down onto her back and then rolling over on top of her. He hooked his arms under her knees, drawing her legs up.

"So, you know how to get me in the mood, as well," he said with a grin. "Good." With this he thrust into her hard, and she cried out, her arms going up around his back, her nails digging into his shoulderblades as she drew him down, pressing his chest against hers. 

The break of dawn found Katsu hurrying down the stairs toward the servants' quarters, still lacing up her dress. She stumbled over a stair and nearly fell in her haste to get there before the other servants woke up. If she was absent in the morning too often, they would begin to suspect something. She was relieved to find everyone sleeping, even Shiro, when she made it to the basement. She collapsed onto her cot just as someone yawned, starting to wake up.

For once, Shiro had not woken up and noticed her absence, so Katsu did not have any explaining to do that morning. The day was uneventful and like the rest, tiring and boring. It was not until late in the afternoon that a rush of activity and commotion went up.

"What's going on?" Katsu asked Shiro innocently. The two of them were still on slightly frigid terms, but not so much that he would not answer her question. His voice was grave.

"You know the one all the Saiyans are afraid of? He's coming here to meet with the King over something."

Katsu stared for a moment. "Coming here?" She repeated. 

"Yeah," Shiro confirmed her statement. "In fourteen days, I heard. All the Saiyans are in an uproar. The King wants everything to be absolutely perfect when whoever this person is comes. I imagine that means we'll be under alot of pressure these next two weeks."

Katsu remembered what she had heard about this mysterious person who was more powerful than all the Saiyans combined. Vegeta was afraid of him, and obeyed him because of this fear. There was that time the King was talking to Vegeta, about having to go somewhere because this person wanted it...

Shiro grabbed Katsu's arm. "Let's go," he said brusquely. "Its dinnertime."

Katsu forgot about what she had heard until late that night, when she had crept back up the stairs and was in Vegeta's room.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he said as he was unlacing her dress.

"Oh?" She breathed. "Where are you going?"

"Just to another planet. I shouldn't be gone more than three or four days." He pushed her dress back and it fell to the ground. Katsu could not help but wonder if this had something to do with that person the Saiyans feared.

"Does this have anything to do with... that person..."

Vegeta's face hardened. "No," he said firmly, his eyes not meeting Katsu's. "It doesn't."

She stared at him for a moment. "Don't lie," she said softly.

He growled lightly. "You worry about me too much," he said. "I don't want you to do that. Don't even think when you're with me. Just feel."

He picked her up, as he often did, and carried her, but in the opposite direction of the bed this time. Katsu was about to ask, but they arrived in the bathroom before she could. Vegeta set her down on her feet in the shower, and immediately turned one of the dials on the showerhead. Ice cold water poured down on Katsu and she yelped, pressing herself against the glass. Vegeta smirked and turned the other dial, evening out the water temperature to a comfortable warmth. He quickly shed his own clothes and stepped into the shower next to her.

"Why did you spray me with icy water?" She demanded. He traced a hand up her stomach, to her breasts.

"No special reason," he said innocently. "Its just fun to make girls cold."

Katsu shook her head. "You're a horrible person, you know that?"

"Yeah."

With this he silenced her by drawing her to him, pressing his mouth down on hers. Katsu relaxed, enjoying the heat of the water and of Vegeta's body. The warmth closed in around her and she let herself stop thinking, and just feel.

Katsu did not know how long they stayed in the shower, but her fingers were beginning to prune when they finally stepped out. They spent another amount of time that Katsu was unsure of in the bed, and the hour was late when they finally rolled apart. Vegeta went immediately to sleep, but Katsu stayed awake. 

_Why does it make me sad to know that he's leaving tomorrow? _

He was not even going to be gone for very long; she could not understand the sharp pressure in her chest when she thought of spending the next three or four nights alone, sleeping on her cot down in the basement. It was not just the comfort of his bed she would miss, she knew that. But it would be a well-deserved break, she needed a break from this. Somehow, she did not feel that she needed a break, did not even want one. She only wanted Vegeta to stay. Tentatively, she reached out her hand, stroked his hair lightly. He barely stirred and went on sleeping. She buried her fingres in his thick hair, enjoying the feel of it between her fingers, and then drifted off to sleep.

"Wake up, Katsu," was the next thing she knew. Vegeta was above her, stroking her cheek, fully dressed already. Dawn was approaching.

"You need to leave," he said, still leaning over her. "And so do I. Be good while I'm gone." 

She did not have time to react to this statement before he leaned down and kissed her softly, barely with his tongue. Then he was gone, and she heard the door shut. The room was empty; she was alone.

A profound sense of loss settled into her chest. She rose quickly from the bed, determined to shake away the feeling. He cared nothing for her; she would not allow herself to care about him. She threw her dress on and ran out the door, quickly, quietly to the basement, as she had now become accustomed to doing. No one was awake, no one ever was, and she lay down on her cot and squeezed her eyes shut, lest tears fall from them. 

_Absolutely not. I will not feel this way about him. We have good sex, nothing more. I absolutely cannot stand him._

She cursed her feminity; that inate part of her that made her want to be in love with the man she slept with. She was not in love, certainly not, but she was caring far too much. She could not allow herself to feel this way about someone who had a part in enslaving her, someone who, at any time, might suddenly change his mind and toss her away for good. She could not start falling in love with a person like that. She would not.

She was.

**To Be Continued...**


	16. Ch 16

"Wicked Game" Ch. 16

By Shawna

_She was in pain. A lot of pain._

She stumbled through the howling wind, she could not even open her eyes against the stinging dirt that struck her eyelids. That banshee shriek, the one from the amber-eyed, purple-haired demon, filled the air around her. Deep, throaty hiccups rose from her stomach and then she retched, vomiting onto the ground before her, hearing the sickening splatter of it. Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she continued, not really knowing where she was going, only that she could not just stand still. 

Abruptly, the wind died, everything went deadly calm. She opened her eyes tentatively. Nothing but blackness surrounded her. The pain in her stomach, so bad it caused her to double over, vanished. She was left completely alone. Even the demon that so haunted her had disappeared. She whirled around a few times, calling out to someone, seeing nothing. Calling to Vegeta. And then, calling to herself.

Katsu came awake with a start, sweating, gasping. Blackness pressed in around her and she thought the dream had been real, panic filled her, but then her eyes adjusted, her mind cleared, and she could see and hear the other servants sleeping around her. She was on her cot, in the servants' quarters. Of course.

She collapsed back onto her pillow with a sigh. She had no idea what time it was, but only a trace of light crept in the thin window near the ceiling, and so dawn was not yet even approaching. Tonight was the fourth night she had spent alone. It was bad enough that she had to sleep on this wretched cot after growing accustomed to Vegeta's wonderfully soft bed, but on top of that, she missed him terribly. Even she could not understand this; could not understand what there was to miss about him. All he did was insult her, treat her disrespectfully, make her work for him, and...

_Always give me what I want. _

This was true; he always did touch her the way she wanted, let her sleep in his bed like she wanted, cuddle up to him just how she wanted. He was far more good to her than she ever gave him credit for.

_Good to you? _A cold voice spoke in her mind. _He's the reason you're still a slave here! He keeps you like a pet; you've even got a collar!_

Instinctively, her hands went to the collar, still wrapped around her neck, a beacon of her bondage. Her fingers tightened around it. Cold as this second voice was, it too spoke the truth. Things had been different though, lately; or so she thought. Maybe she was just looking at Vegeta differently now, glossing over his negative qualities as she became more fond of him. That sounded oddly like something she would do, something she wanted to do simply to make her situation here seem more bearable. 

She brooded over this for hours, until dawn crept in and the other servants began to move about.

"Katsu," Shiro was beside her, stroking her hair. "Wake up, Katsu," he said. "Prince Vegeta is coming back today. We've got to make his room look nice."

Katsu's stomach jumped into her throat. Vegeta was coming back today. A thrill ran through her; tonight she would see him again.

The day dragged, all she could do was look forward to being with Vegeta again. Her body ached for his touch, and the warmth and comfort of his bed. That night, she stole up the stairs, not even waiting for him to call her, only anxious to see him again. 

She opened his door slowly, holding her breath, confused by her excitement at the thought of seeing him again. There he was, standing in the middle of the room, looking at her, smirking; obviously he had known she would come without his calling. She bit her lip, stayed in control long enough to shut the door behind her, and then she broke into a near run, rushing at him, jumping into his arms, wrapping her legs around him. She breathed deeply of his scent, masculine and strangely erotic. She did not kiss him, it did not seem important to do so; she merely pressed herself against him, glad to be in contact with him again. How she had missed the feel of his firm muscles, the gentle heat of his body. Her fingers traced over his face as she ran her lips across his neck, pausing at the prominent vein, feeling the gentle beat of his pulse against her lips. His hands trailed down her back.

"I've missed your body," he said.

Katsu chose to ignore this comment. "I've missed _you_," she breathed, and this seemed to take him by surprise. For a moment he did not move, and then his arms tightened around her back, and he carried her to the bed. He laid her down on it before collapsing heavily on it himself. She went immediately to him, brushing her lips softly across his throat as she began unbuttoning his shirt. He leaned back on the pillows, his face almost quizzical as he watched her open his shirt and press her lips to his chest. 

Katsu trailed her lips across his stomach before lifting her head. Her hands reached out and traced along his arm, before lifting his hand to her lips. She kissed each of his fingertips softly, rubbed his palm against her cheek, and then touched her lips to his wrist. His fingers twitched; he was a bit ticklish at this spot, apparently, and with a grin Katsu blew gently on the white skin before her lips. His arm shook slightly in her grasp. Before the spot bothered him too much, she ran her tongue roughly across it before continuing to trail her lips up his arm. When she reached the top, she let her teeth sink gently into his shoulder. He gasped. Her fingers danced lightly across his chest, moving down to unbuckle his pants and push them down. She traced the line of his hipbone with gently caressing fingertips. A moment later, she shifted position, allowing her to follow the path of her fingers with her tongue; faintly, delicately. Vegeta's breath came in long gasps. His muscles twitched beneath her touch. Her tongue journeyed back upward, back to his neck, along his jawline, and then softly across the line of his bottom lip. For a moment, Katsu stared into his eyes, and then she covered his lips with her own.

Neither of them could be sure how long the kiss lasted, but they both gasped for air when they finally broke apart. A smile crossed Katsu's lips as she stared down at Vegeta with dewy eyes.

"No one has ever touched me like that," he whispered. "So gently... Delicately, as though I were something that could be broken."

"And you've never touched anyone like that, either," Katsu said significantly, seeing by his eyes that he instantly understood what she was saying. 

"Is that how you want to be touched?" He asked. "Is that what you like?"

"Not all the time," she replied, her voice dropping. "Most of the time I'm excited by the way you do things, but sometimes it might be nice if..." She laid her head down on his chest, not wanting to look into his eyes when she spoke her next words. "If you would make love to me."

Katsu felt his breath catch in his chest. For a moment, neither of them moved. Vegeta's hand came up slowly after this pause, gripped her shoulder and flipped her over, onto her back beside him. He rolled onto his side, facing her.

"I think you're getting the wrong idea about this relationship," he said, his voice stern and serious, his eyes somewhere between angry and sad. 

"I didn't mean we have to be in love," she whispered. "Only that I want you to make love to me sometimes. All that means is I want you to go slow, be sensual. You do know how to be intimate, don't you? I know you never have..."

A flush settled lightly on Vegeta's cheeks. "You don't _know_ that," he said petulantly.

Katsu smiled gently, knowingly. Vegeta gritted his teeth and growled softly.

"Shh," Katsu said through her grin, placing her palm gently on his cheek. "I'm not making fun of you or anything. I know why you aren't intimate with your partners. I can teach you. It will be exciting." 

He flipped over, putting his back to her. "I don't need you to teach me anything."

Katsu's grin did not falter. She reached out, took the base of his tail in one of her hands and began stroking it gently with the other. A shudder went through his body and she laughed lightly, leaning forward to run her tongue along the back of his neck.

"This feels good, doesn't it?" She purred into his ear. He did not respond. "You can't tell me it doesn't."

Silence hung in the air, broken only by Vegeta's gasping breaths. Katsu kept one hand on his tail and slid the other up his back, rubbing his shoulder blade as she nibbled on his neck. He stayed still for a few more seconds and then he flipped over quickly, startling her as he pinned her down.

He took a deep breath, not looking her in the eyes. "Alright," he said. "I'll try things your way this once. So show me."

* * *

The next morning, Katsu woke with her head on Vegeta's chest and her body pressed up against his. A smile came over her lips and she snuggled up closer to him. Her muscles were not sore today; she felt no pain at all, only a pleasant sensation low in her body. The two of them had spent hours just touching each other, becoming more intimately acquainted than they could have ever become the way they had been doing things before. Vegeta had let go of his reluctance after a while, and Katsu felt happy about what she felt she had accomplished.

Under her, Vegeta's chest rose sharply as he yawned, coming awake. Katsu grinned and kissed his chest gently.

"I slept well," he said softly. "Apparently you did too, its way after dawn."

Katsu started at this, her eyes going to the window. Sure enough, warm sunlight was pouring in through the crack between the drapes. She bolted out of the bed, tripping and nearly falling over, her hand slapping down on the bedside table to help her catch her balance as she fumbled for her dress.

"Get back in bed," Vegeta said, sounding amused. "You might as well now. I'll think of some excuse for you."

Katsu hesitated, holding her dress in her hands for a moment before letting it slide from her grasp as she climbed back into the bed and curled back up next to Vegeta. 

She had just gotten comfortable beside him when there was a knock on his door. Katsu's eyes went wide, her gaze meeting Vegeta's equally startled face. He opened his mouth to call out.

"Don't-"

It was too late, the door was already swinging open. The blankets were on the floor; there was nothing Katsu could do to conceal herself as Shiro entered the room.

"You rang, Prince..." Shiro trailed off, his mouth falling open at the sight of Katsu lying naked next to Vegeta in his bed. "K-Katsu?" He stammered, looking hurt. "What..."

"I didn't ring for you," Vegeta said through gritted teeth.

"But..." Shiro gestured weakly toward his wrist cuff.

"I didn't-" Vegeta started to say again, but then he looked at Katsu and then at the bedside table. The callink he used to call his servants was sitting on it; Katsu had hit when she had put her hand o the table to catch her balance. Vegeta pressed a hand to his eyes.

"Turn around," he said sternly to Shiro. "Get out of here, shut the door and forget what you just saw."

Shiro nodded dumbly but did not move. Katsu moved her head in the direction of the door, her eyes pleading with Shiro to just do as Vegeta had asked. He took a tiny step backwards, his eyes still riveted on the two of them.

Abruptly, Vegeta raised his arm, holding his hand up towards Shiro. A second before it happened, Katsu knew what he was going to do. She raised her hands to grab his arm and stop him, but she was not fast enough. A beam of pure energy shot out of Vegeta's hand and Shiro, caught offguard, had no time to get out of the way. The beam struck him in the gut, doubling him over with a cry.

"Vegeta!" Katsu screamed, grabbing his arm and digging in her nails. "What did you just do to him?"   
Vegeta ignored her, raising his hand again. "No!" Katsu screamed, pulling on his arm, trying to bring it down, but he easily overpowered her and shot another bolt at Shiro. Shiro straightened up, trying to move backwards, but the beam hit him squarely in the chest and sent him straight to the floor.

"No!" Katsu screamed, flying out of the bed and rushing towards Shiro. She dropped to her knees beside him, placing her hand on his neck, horrified at the sight of his burned flesh and sickened by the smell of it. Her hand felt clumsily along his neck in her panic.

"He's dead!" She cried, jumping to her feet. "Dead! You killed him!"

Vegeta was staring at Shiro's lightly smoking body. "He shouldn't be dead," he said. "If he is, he was weak."

Katsu stared at Vegeta, aghast, and then looked back at Shiro. Rage began to build in her, white hot and almost painful, a rage more powerful than any she had felt before. Shiro had been her friend, he had helped her get through the shock of first arriving on this planet. Vegeta had killed him in one swift stroke, without a second thought. It was her fault that Shiro had come here, her fault that he was dead now.

She threw back her head and screamed, a high-pitched banshee sound that was familiar to her. She almost placed it, and a shock of memory went through her, but then blinding pain tore her apart and she lost conscious thought as she dropped to the ground, still screaming. Her eyes were wide open but unseeing; she heard a crackle that sounded like all of her bones breaking. She struggled to regain her focus, to see, but her eyes seemed clouded over with amber fog.

Her screams continued, and she did not know what was happening to her. It all seemed vaguely familiar, somewhere in the back of her mind, but she could not sort it out in her brain; especially not know, while fire was running through her and all she could think was pain. The fog cleared suddenly from her eyes, in time for her to see her hand, covered in pale brown fur, sprouting long claws from the ends of her fingers. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see it, still screaming, but the scream did not even sound like her own any more. 

The pain stopped, and she collapsed to the ground. She felt very separate from herself, as though she was seeing out of someone else's eyes. Her vision showed the floor, then the walls, that seemed to be moving down before she realized that she was getting up. Her vision shook, she felt the shake in her body and then she shrieked again, an ear-splitting sound. One of her hands came up, gripped the smooth metal around her neck, and ripped it right off, letting it fall to the floor. Her gaze fell on Shiro, lying on the floor, and then it turned to the one who had made him so. Vegeta was sitting in his bed, his hand still outstretched, but it looked somehow defeated. His eyes were wide; he stared at her with a look of stark terror. 

Katsu felt her leg muscles tense, bend, and then she leapt, watching the room fly by at an incredible speed, seeing Vegeta's face rush up to meet her. She landed sideways on Vegeta with a force that sent them both flying off the bed and rolling across the floor. She ended up on top, and she saw her hands fly out and slash Vegeta across the face; four diagonal red lines springing up on each of his cheeks. He gritted his teeth and raised his hand, palm flat, the way he had at Shiro, but before he could do anything else, Katsu's hand gripped his, crushing his fingers into a fist, bending his hand back. He gritted his teeth as she pushed back hard. A loud crack tore through the room as Vegeta's wrist broke. He screamed as Katsu saw her hand release his fist, which lolled limpy as his arm fell to the ground. Bright red lines sprung up on his chest, blood spurting from one of the four that appeared on his neck. His other hand came up quickly and a small beam shot out, hitting Katsu in the face and she fell back off of him with a snarl. Vegeta scrambled to his feet, but Katsu had already recovered and she crouched low, tensing again, before launching herself at Vegeta and sending them both back to the ground. He ended up on his stomach, and there was another cracking sound as one or perhaps two of his ribs snapped. More slashes lit up on his back.

"Katsu!" 

She heard this, but it sounded very far away. It was Vegeta, who was right under her, but the part of her brain that recognized his voice was not in control right now.

"Katsu! Look up! Look at what you are!"

The voice was strained and choking. Look up, look up. Her mind wrestled briefly with this command, and then her head snapped up. There was a mirror in front of her, and she came back into full consciousness at the sight of what was staring back at her.

Her hair stuck out around her face in long purple spikes. Her nose had flattened, but the area around her mouth jutted out, whiskers sprouting from her cheeks. Her skin was covered with light brown fur, long claws burst from the ends of her fingers. A pair of thin, fur covered triangular ears stuck up from her hair, a thick tail curled over her back. Her eyes. They were amber, with black elliptical pupils. She had become her nightmare.

With a weak cry, she fell sideways onto the floor, off Vegeta. Hot tears stung her cheeks, and pain tore through her again. The amber fog returned, her bones crackled, the claws retreated. When the fog cleared, she could see something pale and smooth in front of her face. It was her hand, and it was the way it had been before.

She rolled over, to face Vegeta. His eyes were glazed from the agony he was undoubtedly in, but he was staring at her with pained recognition.

"Nekoyan," he ground out as he hauled himself to his feet.

"What?" She said, unable to make herself get up to follow him as he limped towards the door.

"Nekoyan," he repeated in a painful voice. "Stay here. Don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a few hours."

He clung to the door and then went out it, shutting it behind him. Katsu lay where she had collapsed, running the word through her mind over and over again. Nekoyan. Memories hit her like a blast of ice water; everything pouring back at once. Her planet, her people, her family, her life. Everything was coming back and she felt as though her mind would burst. She collapsed back onto the floor and let the memories wash over her.

**To Be Continued** 


	17. Ch 17

"Wicked Game" Ch. 17

By Shawna

_ "Katsu, honey, you have to go." The woman with the long blonde hair said gently, holding the young Katsu in her arms. "I've put it off too long; if you don't get your training now you could become dangerous. Katsu, do you want that? Do you want to be a danger to your father, brother, and I?"_

"No, Momma, no," Katsu sobbed. "But I don't want to be trained. I hate what we are! I hate it!"

Katsu's mother gripped the young girl's chin firmly, raising her head to look into her eyes. "Never say that, Katsu," she said, gently but firmly. "This is who you are, and you have to love and accept that. We are exceptional, Katsu. Not many races can change form. You only hate it because you fear it, and you only fear it because you don't yet understand it or know how to control it. That's why you have to be trained."

Tears glimmered in the young Katsu's eyes, but she understood the truth behind her mother's words. She must learn to control the power of transformation that everyone in her race possessed. The training must happen, so she could change at will and remain in control while in her other form. This was the way the Nekoyan were and the way they protected themselves from outsiders. In their normal state, the Nekoyan were short but stoutly built, weak in their daily business but powerful when angry and even more powerful when enraged. During their rages, they had the power to transform into a more primal form of themselves; a beast that was more cat-like than humanoid. However, if the power of transformation was not properly controlled, it could happen spontaneously and be very dangerous. Thus, today Katsu was being sent to the training school. She was almost nine years old, more than old enough to begin training.

The memory of that day abruptly wavered out of Katsu's mind, losing focus. Another memory, of a day some years later, came up to take the other's place.

_"We've tried fighting them with increased power levels," Katsu's father said to her mother, teeth gritted. "Many have already been killed. The only way we can beat them is when we're in our transformed state, and so they're now calling for anyone who has been trained in transformation and fighting techniques. I'm going, and I'm taking Katsu and Shori with me."_

"No!" Katsu's mother cried, clinging to Katsu protectively. "Bad enough that you should take my son, but don't take my baby girl from me!"

Katsu's father eyed the mother evenly. "I have to," he said firmly. "She's well-trained, she's one of the best young fighters at the academy. She must go."

"No!" Katsu's mother repeated, holding Katsu tightly. "I'll not send her to die!"

"We'll all _die if these bastard Saiyans are not defeated!" Her father yelled, exploding in anger. Shori, Katsu's elder brother, stood by his father._

"He's right," Shori said firmly. "Katsu, don't you want to fight? You love fighting, and now you'll get to do it for real. You'll get to kill!"

"Don't put such thoughts into her head!" Katsu's mother said angrily.

"Momma," Katsu said calmly. "Shori and Papa are right. I should go."

Katsu's mother was silent. She looked from Katsu, to her father, to Shori, and back to Katsu. 

"Fine," she said tersely, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Fine."

"We leave in the morning," Katsu's father said.

Katsu slept deeply and well that night, despite her nervousness about what the next day would bring. It was still early, however, when she was awakened.

Her mother was seated on the edge of Katsu's bed, sobbing, clutching a cooking pan in her hand. "Oh, Katsu," she said. "I've just heard... they say tonight, on the full moon, the Saiyans will become something horrible. We can't possibly defeat them all by then. I can't let you be here tonight, when that happens. We'll all be killed..."

"Momma," Katsu said, sitting up. "I have to go."

Her mother eyed her evenly. "I can't let you." With this, she raised the pan, and Katsu gasped, caught off guard, and tried to raise her hands to defend herself. The pan came down on the top of her head with a solid thunk_ and she collapsed back onto the bed. Her vision turned yellow._

"I'm so sorry, baby," she heard her mother say. "But this is for your own good. I have to get you off the planet." Then, there was nothing but blackness. The last thing she heard was "I'm sorry, Katsu... Katsu..."

"Katsu."

Katsu opened her eyes, half-expecting to be back in her own bed at home, looking up at her mother's tear streaked face. Instead, she was greeted by the sight of the high ceiling of Vegeta's room.

"Katsu," the voice choked. "Are you okay?"

She turned her head towards the voice. It was Shiro, lying on his back, covered in blood. "Shiro!" She cried, jumping to her feet and running to him, dropping to her knees beside him. "Shiro," she repeated, gently, wanting to touch him but afraid to do so. "I thought you were dead."

He coughed, sucking in breath. "No," he said. "It takes more than a little energy beam to be rid of me."

She laughed despite herself. Shiro joined her briefly, before he fell back into coughing. 

"Oh, Shiro," she said. "We have to get you some help. How long has it been since this happened? I can't remember..."

"A few hours," Shiro replied. "What were you doing? You kept moaning, and talking... You were saying names."

"My family," she breathed. "My friends... I remember everything, Shiro. Everything about my life."

Shiro stared at her for a moment. "I remember your race," he said slowly. "Nekoyan. You... You remember what happened to your planet, then? How did you escape?"

"My mother... She knocked me out and put me in the escape pod I crashed here in. She put me in it to escape the Saiyans..." A look of rage crossed Katsu's face. "The Saiyans," she repeated contemptuously. "They attacked my planet. Shiro, you must tell me what you know. Did... Did anyone survive? Did the Saiyans take over my planet?"

Shiro did not answer for a moment, his face pained. "Yes," he said at length. "I remember hearing about it, only a few weeks before you arrived. The Nekoyans put up a long fight, but once the full moon came, even they couldn't stop the Saiyans. Your planet was taken over, Katsu. Everyone was killed."

For a moment, Katsu only stared at Shiro in shocked disbelief. The news sank in slowly, and then a sob of anguish wailed from her throat. All of the people she could now remember, every last one of them, was dead. Her brother, father, mother, friends... Dead. All of them. Her way of life, gone. The Saiyans had done it all. The Saiyans. Vegeta.

"Shiro," Katsu said very seriously. "Do you know anything about who was there? Was Vegeta there? Was he one of the ones who killed my people?"

Shiro thought for a moment, sucking in ragged breath as he did so. "No," he said finally. "I remember that he had just gotten back from another assignment the day before we heard that the Nekoyans had finally been defeated."

Katsu clenched her fists. It did not matter that he had not been there. It was his people who had done it, and he had been off destroying another planet's civilization. It was the same thing. She had been sleeping with a man who belonged to the race who had killed her family, a man who had killed nameless thousands of other families.

"Katsu," Shiro ground out. "I know you're having an emotional moment right now, but I'm in a lot of pain. Do you think... do you think maybe you could get me out of here to get some help, especially before Vegeta comes back to finish the job or something?"

"I've no intention of 'finishing the job,' nor did I ever intend to kill you."

Katsu and Shiro both turned at the sound of Vegeta's voice from the doorway. Aside from the way he was rubbing his wrist as though it were sore, and a few faint lines across his cheeks, one would never know that he had been seriously wounded only a few hours before. 

Katsu tensed, gritting her teeth. "You," she said angrily. "Get Shiro help. Right now."

"Already done," Vegeta said, moving aside. Two guards rushed in, grabbed Shiro and hoisted him to his feet, dragging him towards the door.

"Hey!" Katsu said, following them. "Gently!"

Vegeta gripped her wrist and pulled her back into his room as the guards left with Shiro. "They won't kill him," he said. "He'll be fine in a few hours. I'm only letting him live because you like him, okay? If he tells anyone about what he saw, you'll both be killed."

Katsu jerked her wrist out of his grip. "You would kill me so easily," she said tersely.

"Not I," Vegeta said. "My father. He would likely not believe it was true, but you would be put to death anyway."

Katsu said nothing, turning her head away from Vegeta as he continued. "Another servant was put to death for claiming that a Saiyan guard had gotten her pregnant. I, for one, know it was true, but of course the guard denied it. Whether or not it was true, no one else cared. My father just got rid of her. That's his way of dealing with any of these sort of problems that may arise with the servants. Shiro already knows that; he was here when the other servant was killed."

"Then you've been risking my life," Katsu said angrily. "Risking my life so you'll have something to get yourself off with. I shouldn't be surprised. You have no real regard for life, mine or anyone else's."

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at her. "I remember everything," she told him through gritted teeth. "It was you who killed my family, all of my people."

"I wasn't on your planet," Vegeta said quickly.

"It doesn't matter!" Katsu screamed. "Your people were there, and you were off doing it to someone else! It's all the same! You have no idea how dirty I feel now. I kissed you goodbye, so you could go off and massacre the defenseless. I slept with you when you came back, rewarded you for your senseless killing. And you've never cared about me at all. I've been so stupid."

Vegeta would not meet her eyes. He looked down, not saying anything. His silence only enraged her further.

"You don't even feel bad! I didn't expect you to, but still! How can you have no regret? Maybe before its all been faceless to you, but look at me now. My whole family is dead, my planet gone. And you do this to people. Look at me! You see what you do?"

His eyes flicked to her, briefly, and then they were on the floor again. There was no emotion on his face.

Katsu screamed, loudly, her hands gripping her hair in her frustration, anger, and pain. Vegeta still said nothing.

"I don't want to see you anymore," she sobbed. "I'll do what you command me, I'll do what I have to, but I'll never let you touch me again. And I swear to you, I swear that I'll escape. I will not stay here and be your pet." With this, she tore past him, out the door, down the hall. Tears streamed from her eyes, but she ignored them. She wanted only to be alone. The servants' quarters were abandoned at this time, and when she was there, she collapsed onto her cot, crying hysterically against the dingy blanket.

Hours ticked by. Eventually, Katsu cried herself dry, but she remained facedown on her cot, unable to even find the will to turn over. All she could picture was her mother's face, and wonder exactly how she had died. Which Saiyans had been on her planet? Who, on this planet right now, had had a hand in the destruction of everything she had ever loved? The idea that she was so close to those who had done tore her apart, and the irony of the situation was not lost on her. Her mother had tried to save her from the Saiyans, and she had ended up sending Katsu right into the very belly of the Saiyans' existence. Katsu would much rather have stayed on her planet, and died fighting alongside her father and brother. Instead, she would die here on this miserable planet, alone.

In the back of her mind, she was wondering what exactly the Saiyans became on full moons. It had only been on the full moon that they had been able to defeat the transformed Nekoyans.

Her mind was just getting around to mulling this fact, when she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She jumped, flipping over and digging her nails into the hand that touched her. Shiro yelped in pain.

"Shiro!" She said in surprise, releasing him. "I-I didn't think it was you."

He grinned sadly. "Who else would it be?"

"You're okay now," she said awkwardly, eyeing him over. 

"Yeah," he said, sitting down next to Katsu on her cot. "I'm okay now. What about you?"

"What do you think?" She asked bitterly. "I've just realized that my entire family was killed by a bunch of brutes who only wanted our planet, and that I've been sleeping with a person from the same race as those that destroyed everything my life was. How should I feel?"

Shiro said nothing. "I do know how you feel, Katsu," he said slowly. "The Saiyans killed my family and took over my planet, too..."

In her own agony, Katsu had completely forgotten this fact. "Shiro," she said, feeling as though she could cry again, but unable to. "I'm sorry..."

Shiro abruptly threw his arms around her, crushing her to his chest, and then they both broke into sobs. They held each other and cried, even as night fell and the other servants filed into the room. No one bothered them, they were ignored, and they cried and held each other as everyone else went to sleep. 

Eventually, they wore themselves out, and lay down on Katsu's cot, somehow unable to disengage from each other's comforting embrace.

"I'm so sorry for all the times I've hurt you, Shiro," Katsu told him gently. 

"It's okay," Shiro said. "I know this whole thing has been hard on you, and now its only worse. But we're going to get through this. I swear to you, I will help you through this."

"I have to get away," Katsu said. "That's the only way for me to be at peace with what happened. I have to escape. That will be my revenge."

Shiro nodded. "We'll think of something, then. We'll think of something that can't fail. Katsu, I want you to be happy. I want you to be able to live a normal life on a free planet. I'm going to do whatever it takes to give that to you."

Katsu did not respond, but held Shiro tighter as exhaustion finally began to overcome her.

"Thank you, Shiro," she did say, at length. "Thank you for everything you have done for me."

Now it was Shiro who did not respond, but he listened as Katsu's breath became even and she fell asleep. He stayed awake for several hours after she had nodded off, thinking of how he could give her what he had promised her. Nothing came to mind, but he was determined. He would get Katsu off this planet, or they would both die trying.

**To Be Continued...**


	18. Ch 18

"Wicked Game" Ch. 18

By Shawna

"Katsu, are you okay?"

It was morning, a week later. Katsu was in the servants' bathroom, sick for the third morning in a row. Shiro could just barely hear her retching.

"I'm fine," she called back weakly. "Just... ate something that didn't agree with me. The food they give us is terrible, you know."

Shiro knew that it was much more than that. The servants' food was indeed bad, but it had never made Katsu sick like this before, and certainly not for three days. It troubled him that she should become ill like this; somewhere in the back of his mind he thought he knew what it meant, but he could not quite put a finger on it.

A few minutes later, Katsu emerged from the bathroom, looking haggard and pale. She wiped the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand and blinked rapidly.

"I feel better now," she said softly.

Shiro gathered her into his arms and helped her to her cot. "Well, that's good. Because you know tonight you'll have to work. You won't be able to get away from the banquet the Saiyans are holding for that person who's coming."

Katsu had been staying down in the servants' quarters all day for the past week. None of the other Saiyans had really noticed, she being Vegeta's servant and all, and Vegeta had not called her or sent anyone else to say anything to her. She had been bitterly depressed, laying around crying and not speaking to anyone. Even the other servants seemed to know that this was serious and left Katsu entirely alone. Shiro had been trying everyday to do something, anything, to bring Katsu's spirits up, but it was impossible. She remained disconsolate.

Three days before, she had vomited first thing in the morning, and she had continued in this pattern up to the current day. At first, Shiro wondered if perhaps it was just because she was so upset, but he began to doubt that when it continued. Somewhere in his mind, he recognized this, knew what was happening to his beloved Katsu. But he could not quite place it, could not bring to the front of his mind what he subconsciously knew was wrong with her. Perhaps he just did not want to accept it.

The day passed like all the others from the past week had: Katsu alternately cried and lay silent on her cot, and Shiro tried to cheer her up every opportunity he had between working. That evening, though, he dragged her gently from the bed, shaking her lightly to bring her to her senses.

"You have to work the banquet tonight, Katsu, you know that."

She nodded dully. "I know," she said, and began to wander toward the kitchen. Shiro had to pull her back and remind her that she was not at all presentable, prompting her to go to the showers and bathe. When she came out, still a bit blue from the freezing showers the servants were forced to take, Shiro brushed her hair for her, smoothed the wrinkles she had put in her dress when she had put it on without paying attention to what she was doing. All of this they did quickly, and then he led her into the kitchen.

The smell was exquisite, the food laying out delicious. Shiro nearly drooled but Katsu did not even seem to notice. Her eyes were faraway, she looked like a zombie. Nervously, Shiro placed a platter of food into Katsu's hands, making sure her grip was tight before letting it go. After fetching a platter for himself to carry, he prodded Katsu towards the doors to leave, and she went silently, obediently as she had become in the past week.

"So, this person the Saiyans are so scared of is allegedly here tonight. I guess they're trying to impress him with all this, to win his favor so he doesn't blow up the planet or something." Shiro knew he was making idle chitchat, but the silence from Katsu was heavy and suffocating; it drove him crazy. He continued to talk absently, garnering only shrugs and monosyllabic responses from her. They reached the main dining room and he of course quieted as he opened the door and led Katsu inside.

More than a hundred Saiyans were present, all dressed in their finest. The walls were decorated with plaques and banners, the tables clothed. The hall would have been beautiful but for the almost tangible air of evil that hung about the place. Shiro was instantly aware of the negative energy; his ears flattened involuntarily and even Katsu seemed to become aware of her surroundings, glancing around nervously. Vegeta was seated by the King, who was himself sitting by a positively ugly little troll-looking creature. It was pink and somewhat lizardy, and Katsu was instantly repulsed and at the same time shocked. Was this really what had caused the Saiyans so much fear?

"He's so ugly," Katsu whispered to Shiro, her voice easily drowned out by the din in the hall. "And so... _pink."_

Shiro snickered a bit in spite of himself and nodded, but did not dare to speak. With horror, he noticed that the pink creature was staring right at Katsu and seemed to have heard her. That was impossible, of course, it had to be. But no. The creature had definitely heard.

"Silence," the creature commanded in a loud voice, a voice that sent shivers down Katsu's spine. It was raspy and old-sounding, but so full of malice.

Silence instantly fell in the hall, all eyes turning to the pink creature. "Lord Frieza," the King said politely. "Is something wrong?"

Frieza, that was obviously the small creature's name, pointed a finger at Katsu and Shiro. "Who are those people?"

The King eyed the pair. "Oh, no one important. Servants, my lord."

"Girl," Frieza said, addressing her, and Katsu was suddenly reminded of her first night on this planet, when Vegeta had acted very similarly to this. "Come here."

Wordlessly, but suddenly snapped out of her grief and very much afraid, Katsu did as she was told. When she was standing before Frieza, he gripped her wrist and pulled her in close to him. She gritted her teeth in disgust, even as she was still thinking about her first night at how this was exactly like that. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vegeta clenching his fists, fighting to keep control, obviously angered.

Frieza took a deep breath of her smell and then released her, turning to Vegeta. "Is she your servant, Vegeta?"

Vegeta's fists relaxed. "She is, my lord."

Frieza leaned in very close to Vegeta, his voice dropped but Katsu could still hear him perfectly, and got the distinct impression that she and Vegeta were the only ones who would hear the creature's next words.

"Tell me, Vegeta, is it common for you Saiyans to impregnate your servants?"

Vegeta's eyes went impossibly wide; his mouth dropped open. His gaze went to Katsu, but she was equally shocked by this question. _Pregnant?_ Her mind roared. _With child? How could I have not known that? How could _he _have known that when I didn't? With child? Vegeta's child?_ Of course Vegeta's child. It could be no one else's.

Vegeta turned back to Frieza. "My lord," he said very quietly. "I had no idea that this servant was pregnant, and if she is, it certainly isn't mine. I've never touched her."

Frieza snorted. "Of course you haven't, Vegeta."

The pink creature leaned back in his seat, and resumed a normal speaking voice, addressing the Saiyans who were all turned, regarding him quizzically, obviously wondering what it was he had said to Vegeta. They would never know.

"Well," Frieza said. "Let's get on with this, then."

Shiro took Katsu's elbow and led her away quickly. Her eyes went to Vegeta, he was staring at her, watching her go, his face full of questions and something like anger. After this dinner was over, she knew that she would not be able to avoid him any longer.

"What was that all about?" Shiro asked anxiously when the two were safely in the hallway and well out of earshot. "What did he say to you and the Prince?"

"He just wanted to know if I was Vegeta's servant," she said absently, still in a state of shock over the news she had just gotten. She pressed her hands to her stomach, suddenly heavily aware of the presence of another life inside her.

"That's it?" Shiro asked skeptically. "Why did he care about that?"

"How should I know?" Katsu said, still in that dreamy tone, her mind preoccupied with thinking about what the baby would look like, what she would name it, if it would be a boy or a girl, but also, in a deeper part of her mind, more cryptic things, such as what might happen to her if it was found out that Vegeta was the father of the child, if she or the child would live through such a discovery. It would have to be passed off as Shiro's child, that was her only option that would ensure the survival of both her and her offspring. Unless there was something that Vegeta could do.

__

What could he do? He'll probably go straight and tell his daddy and have me put to death. That's what he'll do.

She thought this, but had trouble believing it. Vegeta loved himself immensely, and somehow she figured that this love for himself was inclusive enough to include the product of his genes, and there might be some desire in him to see to it that his child was not killed.

Shiro was prattling on, drilling her, but she had gone back into her own little world, for a different reason this time than last. She figured that within the next few hours, here wrist cuff would sound.

She was absolutely right. The other servants were settling on to their cots when the beeping began, and, not surprised in the least, she covered the cuff with her hand to stifle the noise and made quickly and quietly for the stairs that would take her to Vegeta's room. She was not sure what to expect from him, she never was, but she felt oddly calm, not really nervous. She pressed her hands to her stomach again, feeling comforted by the fact that she would never again be totally alone.

Vegeta was waiting for her in his doorway, and he pulled her into his chamber rapidly, looking apprehensive, as if he might be caught. She noticed that he was more gentle with her now than he ever had been before, he did not throw her into the room or jerk her around. He led her to the chair that, in the past, he had always occupied and sat her down in it.

"Well," he said unceremoniously. "Is it true?"

"I think so," Katsu said softly. "I've been sick for the past three days. I've felt odd, but I thought it was because I was depressed."

Vegeta passed a hand over his face, looking much more stressed than Katsu. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to pass it off as Shiro's baby," she said easily. "This doesn't change anything between us. I can't forgive you for what you did just because I'm pregnant with your child."

Vegeta looked shocked. "What the fuck are you saying, 'this doesn't change anything between us?' This changes _everything_ between us!"

"I don't see how it does," Katsu said easily, surprised by her own sense of calm in this sordid situation. In her head, she was still thinking about the baby in every aspect of her life. She had a reason to live now, something to go on for. She also had that much more need to escape this planet. She did not want to see her child grow up a slave.

Vegeta echoed her thoughts. "I won't see my child grow up a slave. We have to do something about this."

"I won't come back to you, Vegeta," Katsu said. "Nothing you say, nothing you promise for myself or my child will change my mind about you."

"Katsu," Vegeta came up beside the chair, gripping the armrests and bearing down on her threateningly, like he had done so many times in the past, times that had scared her so much. That old familiar fear pricked into her heart, but she swallowed it and glared back up at Vegeta defiantly.

"Katsu," he said again. "I was not on your planet. I didn't kill your family. I'm going to have you back, or you're going to be killed. You come back to me, you submit to me fully the way I always wanted you to, and we can see what can be done to keep you and _our_ child alive."

Katsu eyed Vegeta steadily. "Is that really what you want? Me to submit to you? That's never what you wanted before. And I don't think you really care about _my_ child."

Vegeta snarled. "Stop talking about it as if I had nothing to do with it! That baby is as much mine as it is yours, don't you get that? I have a say in this!"

"No," Katsu said. "You don't, Vegeta."

"Stop acting like that! So calm, as if you're in a position to give orders! I am your master, Katsu, I _own_ you, and this is one time when you need to accept that, act like a slave should, and do what I'm telling you to."

Katsu had nothing to say to this. It was true, she was a slave. Somehow, she had let herself forget the reality of her position here. But with Vegeta's child inside her, did she not possess a newfound power? She had something against Vegeta now, a power over him that he was trying to make her forget. 

"I don't have to listen to you now," she said. "You won't kill me now."

He glared daggers at her. "Remember when you told me I had no regard for life? Well, you were right. I don't have any regard for life, not even the life of my child. I will have you killed if you don't obey me."

Katsu's eyes went wide. Surely, he must be lying, to try and frighten her into doing what he was asking. Staring into his eyes, though, she became unsure. He had the familiar ice cold look, as if nothing at all could reach him, nothing scared him or hurt him. But she knew that was not true; he was afraid and in pain all the time, was that not the reason he was the way he was? The fear and anger had shaped him into the hard, unfeeling man that stood before her now. There were feelings inside him, though, she had uncovered them. They could have been buried, again, though, by what had transpired. The most frightening part was not knowing. She could not be sure if he was lying or not, and it would be selfish of her to assume that she suddenly could tell Vegeta what to do; she should not risk the life of her child like that.

"I don't think you would kill your own child," she said quietly. "But I will not risk my baby's life on just my own ideas about you."

Vegeta dropped to his knees before her, and it seemed like he would cry and she was shocked, looking at the hurt on his face, as he took her hands in his own and gripped them tightly.

"Katsu," he pleaded. "I'm sorry, I am. But I can't change what happened to you. We can only look to the future, and... and maybe we can do something about it."

This might be a new train of lies, but she wanted, desperately wanted, to believe that Vegeta had just opened his heart and was pouring its contents into her hands. 

"You told me you loved me once," he said. "I know things are different now, but can't you... don't you still love me?"

Her response came very quickly, the word was out before she even realized that she was going to say it. "No."

There was a brief but heartbreaking silence, and tears spilled over from Katsu's eyes before she even realized they were building. Vegeta's eyes became distant for several seconds, and when his thoughts returned to where he was, his gaze was hard and cold again. He released Katsu's hands and rose, putting his back to her.

"I see," he said quietly. "Then you leave me no choice, Katsu. I will have you put to death for this."

"For not loving you?!" She cried indignantly. "That's not fair! How can you expect me to love you after finding out what I did?!"

He whirled on her. "Not for that!" He said in disgust. "For disobeying me! For embarrassing both me and my father in front of Lord Frieza; tramping into the banquet just reeking of my smell, practically begging for Frieza to find out about what I've been doing. You almost got yourself killed right there. In fact, Lord Frieza is probably telling my father what he knows right now. I'm just beating him to it. I'll have you killed this very evening."

Horror welled up in Katsu; he was serious. He would have her killed just to do it before Frieza got the chance to. She rose from the chair, took a step backwards, not wanting to take her eyes off Vegeta for fear he would kill her right then and there. Dimly, in the back of her mind, she thought she could transform right then, kill Vegeta and then as many Saiyans as she could before they took her down. She could go down fighting. But the thought of trying to transform right now made her head reel with pain, and she did not think she had the strength for it. Her week of depression and recent bouts of vomiting had taken their toll on her strength.

_And you don't want to kill Vegeta. In spite of everything, deep in your heart, you don't want to kill him at all._ The thought rose unbidden in her mind, and though she told herself that was not it, it was true. She did not want to kill him, did not think she had it in her to do so. So instead, she took another faltering step backwards, staring warily at Vegeta's back, afraid he would turn around. She could not handle this right now. The urge to vomit rose up in her throat, and so she turned and ran, tearing out of the room.

She was halfway down the hall when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The door to the servants' quarters was still a good twenty feet away; there was no time for her to duck into it without being seen. The figure on the stairs came into view; short, pink, scaly. Frieza. Katsu froze in terror, unsure of what to do. The two stared each other down for several seconds and then the creature approached her. She could not get away, was riveted by that ugly but powerful gaze. 

An irrational thought rose in her mind, Frieza was going to kill her, and so she shut her eyes tightly and waited for it, mentally opening her eyes, inviting oblivion. But it never came. She heard the door to Vegeta's chamber open, he stepped out.

"Kat-" he began to call her name, and then froze, seeing Frieza. The pink creature eyed the two of them, seeming maliciously amused by their obvious discomfiture. 

"Vegeta," Frieza said in an easy, conversational tone. "I think we need to talk, because it looks like I just caught you in the act."

And it was then that fear gripped Katsu, along with exhaustion and stress. Her legs went weak, stars lit up in her vision. All of this was too much for her, especially with her failing health. Despite her attempts to fight it, her legs gave out, she collapsed to the floor, and then fainted dead away.

*To Be Continued...*


	19. Ch 19

"Wicked Game" Ch. 19

By Shawna

"Mother! Mother!"

The young boy came running up to Katsu, who laughed and swung him into her arms.

"What is it, Miki?" She asked the boy, still smiling.

The boy in Katsu's arms looked to be about 4 or 5 years old, and his black hair was long, pulled back into a ponytail. He had a very shallow widow's peak, which would inevitably deepen as he got older, just like his father. He had his father's hair color and of course the widow's peak, and he also had his father's facial features, he could practically be a clone of his father, except for his eyes. His eyes were large and vibrant green, his mother's eyes. Katsu smiled as she looked at him, seeing herself reflected in the eyes that were just like her own.

"It's dad," Miki said softly. 

Katsu did not know what it was about her husband that had caused Miki to come running to her, afraid, but she figured he had probably just blown his temper, as he was apt to do. She began to walk across the marble tile, her heels clicking on it, her long white dress swirling around her ankles. She was wearing a crown, and her dress bore a crest on the bodice and sleeves. She was a queen, this young boy, her son, was the prince, Vegeta was the king. All of these things she knew, of course, because this was her life. She passed through a door out of the throne room and onto a great balcony. A large, bald Saiyan was feeding a cat and singing quietly to himself: "Cat loves food, yeah yeah yeah…" Upon seeing Katsu he instantly silenced himself and stood up straight, saluting her.

"Good afternoon, Queen Katsu. Are you looking for King Vegeta?"

"Yes," she said softly, and Miki burst into tears and buried his face in the shoulder of her dress. "I think maybe his Highness lost his temper with the prince," she said in response to Nappa's confused look.

"Oh, right," Nappa said, flustered. "Well, the king is in the bedroom."

"Thank you Nappa," she said softly.

"Of course, your majesty!"

Katsu trailed through the castle, knowing the way to the bedroom she shared with Vegeta. The walls in the inner halls were decorated with pictures, pictures of her and Vegeta kissing on their wedding day, of the two of them holding each other and smiling, a picture of the proud parents and a Miki who was only a few hours old. The present-day Miki was crying softly in her shoulder, she rubbed his back. He was a superb fighter and very strong, but he was apt to cry and get very hurt emotionally whenever his father was short with him, which he so often was. Katsu shook her head, but she was smiling. She knew Vegeta well, of course, and he was always short with people, even her on occasion. Perhaps it was even one of the reasons that she loved him, because he was so difficult and yet he always gave both her and their son everything they wanted. He was a paradox, but he was the man she loved.

"Wait, mom, you never let me tell you what it was about dad that upset me!" Miki suddenly blurted. He was young, but very articulate for his age. Katsu froze, turned to look at Miki.

"Well, what is it? What did your father do?"

Miki became very solemn. "He said he was going to kill me."

Katsu's mouth dropped open in horror. She stared at her son, her son who looked just like Vegeta, but with Katsu's eyes, her son who was more powerful than both herself and Vegeta combined, who already possessed fighting skills that could nearly put his parents to shame. Tears were spilling down the boy's cheeks, he looked afraid, and then there was a crash and Vegeta, dressed in a suit bearing that crest that Katsu's dress had, burst into the hallway, the doors flying off their hinges as he pushed them open. He did not say anything, Katsu opened her mouth to speak to him.

"Vegeta! Wha-"

He came at her, and his hand closed around her throat, cutting off her voice and her air. His other hand wrapped around the neck of their son. He began to squeeze, to close her airway, and she clawed futilely at his hands and small bolts of energy shot out from Miki, but he had been taken by surprise and could not concentrate his power to overcome his father. Yellow spots flashed before Katsu's eyes, she saw her son's eyes roll up into his head, she tried to scream, to kick Vegeta, to do anything to save herself and more importantly her son, her dear son, he was dying, they would both be dead soon...

Katsu opened her eyes, a scream in her mouth. It died instantly when she realized that she was in Vegeta's bed and that he was not trying to strangle her and that their child was still many months from being born. She had been dreaming, dreaming only. She was not in danger now...

But she was. What had happened before she had passed out poured back into her mind, and she sat up quickly in the bed, realizing too late that she should not move so quickly. A rush of blood went straight to her head, making her feel dizzy and she collapsed back onto the pillows. She heard footsteps crossing the floor towards her, and when she could see clearly again, she saw Vegeta peering down at her, looking concerned.

"You shouldn't try to move so much," he said, placing a damp cloth on her forehead. "You're running a high fever and you're malnourished, and both of those things are more dangerous for a woman who is... for someone in your condition. Lie still."

She saw him take a syringe from his pocket, remove the cover, and place it in the underside of her elbow.

"What is that, don't-" She tried to resist, but Vegeta was already depressing the plunger, injecting whatever it was into her veins.

"Don't worry," he said. "It will make you feel better and it won't hurt... our baby."

Their baby. Without thinking about it Katsu reached out and grabbed Vegeta, he dropped the syringe in surprise, and she pulled him against her and buried her face in his hair and wept. She had not really felt the tears coming, but suddenly they were there, spilling from her eyes. Vegeta was stiff in her arms, but he did not move, merely letting her cry herself out against him.

When she could finally dry her eyes and pull away, she suddenly realized who it was she was holding and looked scandalized. 

"You-what..." She had nothing to say.

Vegeta stared at her helplessly, seeming at a loss for words for the first time in his life. He reached out slowly, placed his hand on her cheek and he was warm and soft and she wanted to let him touch, to tell herself that it was not he who had destroyed her planet and killed her people, but this was not the truth, she could not tell herself this and so she pushed Vegeta's hand away from her and could not help but notice the fleeting look of pain that crossed his face.

"Lord Frieza just left," Vegeta said quietly, by way of changing the subject. 

Katsu did not meet Vegeta's eyes. "What did he say?"

"Not to kill you."

Katsu's head rose quickly, she stared at Vegeta. "He did? Wh-why?"

"Because our baby is going to be more powerful than any other life form ever before seen."

Katsu looked briefly horrified by this news and then she shook her head. "No," she said simply. "I know what he's thinking. My child will not be a weapon for his filthy objectives."

Vegeta closed his eyes and took a breath, as if trying to calm himself. Opening his eyes, he spoke. "I know that's not what you want, Katsu. But it's either that or you die tonight."

Katsu pressed herself against the headboard, clenching her fists. "Then I choose death."

Vegeta popped out of his crouch and pressed his hands to his eyes and growled in frustration. "You can't make that choice! You can't make that choice for our baby!"

"I'd rather us both dead than slaves! Better dead than murderers!" She cried.

Vegeta seemed ready to yell at her more, to tell her that he was taking the choice away from her, but suddenly his whole body relaxed, he seemed to deflate, and then he collapsed onto his knees by the bed.

"Katsu," he said very seriously. "By the time that child is old enough to fight we will not be serving Frieza anymore. I promise you that."

Refusing to meet his gaze, wondering if this was true, Katsu fixed her eyes on the ceiling. "How can you promise me that? Do you know for sure?"

Vegeta grabbed her hands, but still she did not look at him. "Why do you think I've been training so much? Why did I want to fight you all those times? We've all been training because we're going to defeat him and throw off the yoke of his rule for good! I believe I am the Super Saiyan!"

Katsu's nose wrinkled and now she did look at Vegeta. "Super Saiyan? What is that?"

"There's a legend," Vegeta said excitedly. "A legend that tells of a Saiyan who will be so powerful that no one can defeat him. I believe I am that Saiyan."

"But you don't know for sure," Katsu interjected, incredulous. 

"Even if I'm not, which is highly unlikely, all this training has made me powerful! With the help of the other Saiyans I think we can one day, one day soon, get rid of Frieza once and for all."

Silence settled over them, Vegeta staring at Katsu expectantly, as if she should just jump back into his arms at hearing this news, and Katsu eyeing Vegeta dubiously. Seconds ticked by.

"You... you're sure about this? You won't be serving him anymore? And what about me, will I still be a slave?"

"No!" Vegeta said quickly, seeing that he was convincing her. "No, Katsu, you'll be my Queen."

Queen. The word resounded through Katsu's ears, pumped through her brain. Queen, her, a monarch, all that power, respect, everything she wanted, all hers. She could be a queen. By Vegeta's side, she could have everything. Their power combined, the power of their offspring, all of that power centering on her... Power, power, power; the word throbbed through Katsu's mind. All of her senses tingled, and she suddenly became aware of how close Vegeta was to her, of how long it had been since she had been with him. Now she could smell him, could see every curve of the muscles in his chest and arms. Lust flared in her, a lust not just for him, but for the power he had suddenly promised her, and she grabbed him, pressing her lips to his. He stiffened briefly, and then kissed her back, his hands already removing his shirt and then going to hers, and he climbed up on the bed with her, and she exalted in his power, thinking of herself as a queen.

Several hours later, she was lying alone in Vegeta's bed, staring out the window. Thinking about how she had acted that afternoon made her feel sick now; she had acted worse than any of these Saiyans, responding to the idea of power so powerfully that she had pulled Vegeta into bed with her and let him have his way with her again, had done everything he had always liked, all because she had been overcome with lust at the thought of power.

_Disgusting,_ she told herself. _I'm disgusting. I'm worse than Vegeta._ She buried her face in her arms, not crying, not making any sound or movement, but feeling as though she were being swallowed alive by a sudden and complete misery. 

_All I could think about was being a queen, all I wanted was that power. Power._ Power. When she was queen, she would have power. It struck her suddenly, joltingly, and she was instantly flooded with a relief. When she was queen, she could change things here. She would free the slaves, look for alternate means of survival other than destroying civilizations. She could change everything and make this place better, make a difference. That was why she wanted to be queen so bad, to make things better. This thought made her happy, her lust for power was justified. In the back of her mind, though, it haunted her that she was just making excuses for herself, that she truly did desire power after all and the thought of it being suddenly attainable had made her desire flare like it never had before. 

_No,_ she told herself firmly. _No, I want to be a queen for benevolent reasons. _

More excuses.

That night, after she had showered, she dressed herself in a black shirt from Vegeta's closet, leaving the neck open and not bothering to wear anything under it. When he entered the room, she would be waiting for him.

"Vegeta," she purred when he came back to his bedroom. She had dimmed the lights, and she went to him slowly, walking sensually.

His eyes opened wide at seeing her; apparently he was not prepared for her mood to switch so rapidly to this. 

"Katsu," he said softly. "What..."

"Shh," she said quietly. "Let's not talk."

She pressed herself against him, running her fingers slowly across his lips before bringing her mouth to his, sliding her tongue between his lips slowly. She wanted this to be slow, to be like it had the time right before she had remembered all of the painful memories, before her love had been destroyed...

It was slow and by the end of the night, when they finally rolled apart and Vegeta drifted to sleep, Katsu felt good for the first time in weeks. The back of her mind still pestered her, reminding her who Vegeta was, what he had done, but she was in love with him. She had fallen in love before her memories returned and now she could not shake the feeling. She looked tenderly at Vegeta's sleeping form, vowing to herself that she could change him, make him softer, more considerate. She did not try to fool herself too much, though; she knew he would never be a kind and gentle family man or a benevolent king, but she would always be at his side, to counter his harsh personality. This was going to work out. Even if Vegeta never became strong enough to defeat Frieza, her child would be able to do it, of this she was confident. One way or the other, everything was going to work out as she was envisioning. Everything was going to work out perfect.

**To Be Concluded.**


End file.
